Dark Side of the Moon
by The Night Lord
Summary: Requested by Bellavision. Set after NFA. Angel and Spike must team up with the Scooby Gang to battle against their most difficult foe yet: Buffy! On permanent hiatus...
1. A Night Out

So, this is my new project that I'm working on, a challenge prompt requested by Bellavision. This is set after 'Not Fade Away' (lol, again) and is meant to go for around 70 chapters. That's more than twice the chapters I usually write, so we'll see how we go.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

It was a nice, cool, quiet night in Los Angeles.

It was just a shame that for young Chloe Morgan, she was unable to appreciate the beautiful night due to the fact that she was in a bad side of town and something was stalking her from the darkness, cutting off her means of escape and trapping her.

It had all started when Chloe had been in town with a few friends, having a few drinks together, when upon heading home, she decided to take a shortcut and go through a small series of alleys. That's when she noticed she was being followed and every attempt to escape had been thwarted. Now she was left alone in the middle of nowhere, unable to see any exits, as heavy footsteps approached.

A man stepped out of the darkness before her. He was well-built, looking to be in his mid-thirties and could even be considered good looking if it wasn't for the fact that his face currently looking misshapen. Were his eyes really glowing yellow?

"Please, what do you want with me?" Chloe asked, backing away from him, "I could give you money if that means you'll let me go."

"I don't want your stinking money," the man growled, "I just want you."

"Please, please, no, please let me go," Chloe pleaded, crouching against the wall, as the man towered over her, "I'm a good girl. I don't deserve this. I don't want to die."

The man grinned, fangs flashing in the dark, as he lifted her up to her feet with one hand, pinning her to the wall, as he bared her smooth, pale neck to him and he smirked, leaning in close and opening his mouth wide.

"Eating out is great and all, but in a back alley?"

The man let Chloe go, whirling around with a primal growl of anger, as another man stepped out of the darkness. And this one was good-looking, with short, spiky black hair, intense brown eyes and dressed in a black shirt, slacks and a three-quarter length black leather coat. He was unfazed as he approached the disfigured man, who snarled and strode towards him with the intent of murdering him.

"I mean, it just shows you really don't know how to treat a woman for dinner."

"I'm gonna tear you apart!"

The good-looking man simply punched him, dropping him to the ground from the blow. Chloe slowly rose to her feet, transfixed by the scene before her, as the disfigured man scrambled to his feet, letting loose with a wild swing. The second man easily blocked the attempt and struck him again, knocking him down once more. Her attacker groaned, struggling to get up, only to get kicked in the stomach, which flipped him over onto his back. Then, Chloe watched in surprise as the second man withdrew a wooden stake from his coat and plunge it into her attacker's chest. But that was nothing compared to when her attacker burst apart into a small pile of dust.

"What the…how…I mean…uh…what just happened?"

"It's best if you hurried home," he replied, "Never know how many more are out there."

Chloe nodded and hurriedly left the arena, as Angel watched her go. Once she was gone from sight, the vampire with a soul turned and left in the opposite direction, coming out onto the street where he had parked his car. Sliding into the driver's seat of the Plymouth, Angel let out a sigh he didn't need, as he started the car and pulled away from the curb. It had been four months since the battle against Wolfram and Hart and ever since then, things had changed. People were starting to notice the things that went bump in the night, starting to realise what awaited them in the mean, dark streets of Los Angeles. It didn't make things easy for Angel, made it less so by how few there were in his team to continue the battle to help the helpless. Both Gunn and Illyria had died in the that fateful battle, the latter sacrificing her life to destroy the majority of the army and give both Angel and Spike a chance to escape. After recovering at the Hyperion, the vampires were joined by Connor, who assisted them in hiding from the Senior Partners and when they began venturing out to help the helpless, the trio were joined by former detective Kate Lockley. She had still been living in Los Angeles, helping those who had between the cracks and partially honing her vampire dusting skills. Together, these four were all that stood between the people of Los Angeles and the Senior Partners.

Arriving back at the Hyperion, Angel pulled in and entered the hotel, finding that the lights were on, but nobody was home. Thankful to have some quiet time alone, Angel grabbed himself a mug of blood and headed upstairs to his dark room, where he removed and tossed his coat and shirt aside, before settling down into his armchair, preparing to go into full brood mode. From behind him, a figure crept forth in the darkness, silently drawing a wooden stake as it inched closer towards Angel. The vampire finished his mug and set it down on the arm of the chair.

"I'd stop if I were you."

The figure stopped in its tracks, stake paused in mid-air.

"Let me guess, the Senior Partners sent you to kill me?" Angel said, still sitting in the armchair.

"It is their wish," came the reply.

"Tell them to wish harder."

Whirling around, Angel flung the mug at the intruder, catching him off guard. Moving swiftly, Angel grabbed the intruder's stake hand, holding it away as he threw a punch with his other fist. Bringing the intruder's wrist down to connect with his knee, Angel was able to disarm the would-be assassin, who responded with a blow of his own that knocked the vampire away. Angel caught his balance, as the intruder stepped out into the shard of light coming in through the window from the streetlamp, revealing a Mohra demon. He drew a short sword and charged, but Angel sidestepped his attack, pointing his foot out and tripping the Mohra up. He was flipped onto his back, as Angel knelt by his head, stabbing the stake into the Mohra's forehead jewel. The demon cried out when the jewel shattered and he vanished in a flash of light, as Angel headed over to his shattered mug, picking up the broken handle.

"Damn, and that was my favourite mug, too."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

The club was packed and booming. Music blasted from the loudspeakers, sending everyone on the floor into an alcohol-infused frenzy. Everyone, which included a certain Buffy Summers, who was enjoying her first night off in a long time. Ever since the activation of every single Slayer in the world, Buffy had been working endlessly to seek them out and train them against the forces of darkness, building up an entire army. Eventually, she settled down in Rome with Dawn and Andrew, continuing the training, which meant that Buffy had very little time to herself. That also included having a boyfriend. She had been single for a very long time now, but often found that she didn't have time to commit to one. Besides, who would want to date the Numero Uno Slayer who spent all her time training noob Slayers to fight vampires?

And speaking of vampires.

Even though she was out enjoying herself, Buffy was still keeping an eye out for any baddies and had just now found one, a tall, good-looking man prowling the crowd, a hungry gleam in his eyes. Buffy rolled her eyes as he neared. It was her night off. Why couldn't the undead do the same? And why did it have to be the good-looking ones?

Buffy watched closely as the vampire chatted up a young woman, smiling and flirting with her, before leaving the crowd with her. The Slayer waited a few moments before following after them, as they left the club and headed towards one of the nearest back alleys. After making sure her stake was secure in her jacket, Buffy entered the alley, just as a short scream broke the night. Pushing into a run, Buffy tackled the vampire, knocking him away from the woman, as she ran terrified back to the club. The vampire snarled as he got to his feet, his golden eyes flashing in the dark.

"Can we make this quick?" Buffy asked, "It's my night off."

The vampire growled and moved for her, but she easily blocked his attacks, before kicking him in the stomach, giving her some space.

"I mean, I've been really looking forward to this, having been working so hard training the noobs," Buffy continued, "I just wanted some time to myself. Is that too much to ask?"

Ducking the vampire's fist, Buffy slammed her own into his jaw, staggering him, then swung the stake for his heart, but the vampire recovered quicker than she expected, smacking her hand aside and punching her in the face. Whirling around with a high kick, Buffy clipped him on the temple, flipping the vampire over onto his back. She tried again with the stake, but once again, the vampire thwarted her, catching her wrist and holding her stake at bay.

"I've been waiting for you," the vampire grinned.

He threw her wrist aside and rolled back onto his feet, twisting with a kick that Buffy blocked, as she shoved his leg aside, exposing his back and she staked his heart.

"So is the club," Buffy replied to the dust.

She tucked the stake away and was about to leave the alley, when another vampire stepped in her way, blocking the exit. However, he wasn't the only one, as several more vampires materialised out of the darkness, surrounding the Slayer. However, she was nonplussed by the numbers and even had a bored look on her face.

"Okay, now I'm starting to get annoyed. You all have three seconds to leave or you can all say hello to Mr Pointy."

The vampires growled, all advancing on her, as Buffy sighed.

"Fine. You'll be regretting this."

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	2. Anastasia

**XXXXXXXXXX**

The stripper twirled around on the pole, flashing Spike a smile, but he was more interested in his shot of whiskey, which he then downed, before turning his attention to the stripper. She was tall and willowy, with a toned and graceful body, her blonde hair cut short to just beneath her ears. Wearing nothing more than a red lacy bra and thong, she smiled at Spike, as she whirled around the pole once more, landing on her hands and knees and began slinking over to the vampire.

"Interested in a session?" she asked.

"Upstairs or down?" Spike asked.

"That depends. What you got?"

The vampire dug into his pocket, pulling out a fifty-dollar note.

"Upstairs it is," the stripper said, taking the note.

Taking Spike by the hand, she led him into a private booth at the back of the strip club, closing the curtains, as Spike settled down on the couch, a lazy smirk on his face as the stripper straddled his lap.

"Since we're here, we might as well introduce ourselves," he said, "I'm Spike."

"Anastasia," came the reply.

"Anastasia. That's a nice name. So, how many of you involved in the operation?"

Anastasia blinked in surprise and Spike grabbed her by the throat, pinning her to the floor with his body, as she growled, her face shifting, as Spike grinned to himself.

"There we are. Now, who else is helping you in all this?"

Anastasia didn't reply, but her eyes did look towards the curtain. Spike followed her gaze, seeing a big, burly bouncer before him, his face also transformed. With a sigh, Spike stood up from Anastasia, dusting himself off, as she hurriedly got to her feet, her face reverting back to human.

"Appears there was a bit of a misunderstanding," Spike said, "Best be on my way."

He went to leave, but the vampiric bouncer stood in his way, placing a hand on his chest.

"Wanna lose that hand?" Spike asked.

"You're Spike, aren't you? The guy who runs around after Angel?"

He sighed, "I don't run around _after _Angel. I don't run with him at all. We just co-exist."

A stake popped out of Spike's sleeve and he stabbed it into the bouncer's chest, reducing him to dust. Anastasia leapt onto Spike's back, but he grabbed hold of her arm and threw her to the ground, raising the stake over her.

"Sorry, love."

Staking her, Spike grabbed the fifty-dollar note from her pile of ashes, before folding the stake away and leaving the private booth. Surprisingly in need of a stiff drink, Spike stopped by the bar and downed a shot of whiskey, before leaving the club. There had been a number of disappearances involved with the club and Spike decided to investigate, learning that vampires were behind the incident.

And speaking of vampires.

"Spike," a vampire growled.

Spike stopped in his tracks, noticing that he was surrounded by at least six vampires, all smartly dressed, their glossy hair gleaming under the moonlight. The one in front of him seemed to be the leader, at least by the way he held himself and the fact that he was still wearing his human face, unlike the other vampires.

"Fellas," Spike greeted, "What can I do for you?"

"Nice little show you did back there, killing one of my girls. And a bouncer."

"Guess I forgot to cover the camera," Spike said, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it, "So, are you the one who was running the operation?"

"You mean building the army?" the lead vampire asked, "You got that right. And right now, you're going to die."

Spike simply shrugged nonchalantly, stomping out the cigarette, as two vampires rushed him at once, coming in from both sides. With a flick of both wrists, Spike staked the pair at the same time. A fist slammed into Spike's jaw from his left and he responded by jamming a stake into the vampire's heart turning him to dust.

Within a few minutes, the fight was over and Spike walked away with a lit cigarette, satisfied that his plan had worked. By killing one of the workers and then leaving the club, he had been able to lure out the one responsible for the disappearances and by killing him, disrupted the formation of the building army, which would now crumple.

In theory, but it was enough for Spike.

Now that the job was done, he was a little unsure of what he wanted to do. However, he knew that he didn't want to head back to the Hyperion just yet. He didn't want to deal with Angel's brooding or Connor's brooding.

_"Like father, like son,"_ Spike mused.

Then, whenever Kate was around, there would be those small, awkward moments between her and Angel that made Spike roll his eyes and want to tell the pair to get a room and sort things out. Wait, he had already told them, but that was followed by a 'get lost, Spike' from Kate and a reminder about the curse later on from Angel. Spike then responded by telling Angel that sleeping with Kate wouldn't result in him losing his soul, but the elder vampire still refused on the basis of not wanting to ruin his friendship with the former detective. Spike's next reply hit close to home and the younger vampire was quickly sent away on the mission to investigate the strip club.

_"Wonder what sort of trouble I can get up to in the pub."_

With this thought in mind, Spike set off for his new destination.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Hey, wake up."

That was the only warning Buffy got before she was suddenly drenched with icy cold water, the shock instantly waking her up. She gasped, looking around at her alien surroundings. She was in an empty, cold room, her wrists shackled to the ceiling and a young, red-haired woman was standing before her, holding a bucket.

"Wh-where am I?" Buffy shivered.

The woman shrugged, "Somewhere. Anywhere. Nowhere."

She set the bucket aside and moved to a small table, which Buffy saw was littered with a number of non-friendly and most-likely-painful instruments. The moment briefly reminded her of the time when Faith tried to torture her back in Sunnydale, but the memory was quickly discarded as Buffy tried to figure out how she ended up in this position. The last thing she remembered was fighting against a group of vampires, which was nothing to her, but now she was here, a helpless victim. Looking for an escape route, Buffy tested the strength of her chains, but found she couldn't break them.

"I wouldn't try, sweetheart," the woman said, fingering a scalpel, "The shackles are magically imbued. Only the caster could break those chains."

"What's going on?" Buffy asked, "Who are you? What do you want with me?"

"Well, one of those questions I can answer. My name is Justine."

Drawing closer with the scalpel, Justine brought it to Buffy's collar, but a sharp kick to the shin prevent her from drawing blood, as Buffy lifted her feet up and delivered another kick to Justine's chest. She hit the ground, the scalpel flying from her hand, but she simply laughed as she got to her feet, dusting herself off.

"What was that for?" Justine chuckled, "How was that going to help you?"

"Stopped you from slicing me," Buffy replied, "I'm touchy about that."

"Clearly. I don't know why he didn't shackle your feet, but we'll fix that. Now, if you don't mind, I'm a little thirsty."

Snatching the scalpel from the floor, Justine moved towards Buffy again, wary of her legs, before creating a long, shallow cut in the Slayer's forearm. Buffy grimaced against the pain, as Justine then brought her mouth forth to lap up the trickling blood.

"So, I'm being held by vampires?" Buffy said, "Why am I not dead?"

"Well, that can be arranged if you like," Justine replied, wiping the blood from her lips, "But, he has plans for you. I doubt you'll like them, but I don't think he cares."

"He? Who's he?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Spike sat at the bar, enjoying a few drinks and also the fact that nearly all the demons and vampires in the bar were giving him a wide berth. Even the demons with him at the bar were sitting a few stools away from him, keeping to themselves and leaving him alone. Which was fine for Spike. He was hoping for a quiet wind down for the night, but if a fight was to start, he would happily take part in it. Especially if he was the instigator or the instigated.

"Spike," growled a heavy voice from behind him.

"Buzz off, mate, unless you want to get hurt."

"I have a message for you from Wolfram and Hart."

Interested, but showing any visible signs of it, Spike slowly turned on his stool, facing a large, thick demon whose face was covered by a ragged hood. Two smaller, but bulky demons stood with him, as Spike downed his glass of whiskey.

"Alright, do tell."

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	3. The Poltergeist

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Thanks for your time," Kate farewelled.

The client thanked her in return and left the hotel, as the former detective returned to the office and began going over the paperwork for filing. Ever since leaving the force, Kate had found her calling helping those who had fallen between the cracks, much like she had nearly done, if it wasn't for Angel. Now that she was working with said vampire to help others, she felt she had truly found her place.

And speaking of said vampire.

Hearing voices outside the office, Kate poked her head out, seeing Angel and Connor coming down the stairs, talking to each other, the latter carrying his schoolbag. Connor had been accepted into college, although he stayed at the Hyperion until he had saved up enough money to move onto campus. He had also changed his appearance, cutting his hair short so it was in a similar style to his father's and had dyed it mostly blonde, all courtesy of Kate who had helped him with the styling.

"All I'm just saying is try not to get into any more fights," Angel said, "I don't want you kicked out so early into the term."

"Dad, it's football. There's always going to be a fight involved," Connor replied, "Besides, Harlan started it."

Under the glare of his father, he rolled his eyes.

"Alright then, I'll do my best."

"That's all I ask. Have fun."

Connor waved goodbye to Kate, before leaving the hotel, as Angel joined the former detective by the coffee machine.

"There was a fight?"

"Oh yeah, but it was nothing major. Connor only threw one punch, which is really all that's needed from him, but he did get a warning."

"These things happen, Angel. He'll be fine. Don't worry so much."

"There was another assassin last night," Angel said, "It was a Mohra demon."

"So Wolfram and Hart are stepping up," Kate mused, "I guess there is cause for concern. Obviously you dealt with it?"

"Yeah, but I wonder what's next. I hate wondering what's next. It gets so repetitive."

"Would a case help clear your mind?"

The vampire perked up at the prospect of a case and he looked over Kate's shoulder as she opened the folder and handed him the file. A poltergeist. Should be easy, very standard stuff by now. Then he saw the address and his dead heart sank in his chest.

It was Cordelia's apartment.

"Everything alright, Angel?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine," Angel replied, "I'll get this done."

Grabbing his coat, he headed for the basement, but ended up bumping into Spike, who looked a little worse for wear. Angel growled irritably at the sight of the other vampire and moved to push past him, but Spike stopped him.

"Angel, need to talk-"

"Not now, Spike. Got things to do, maybe it can wait."

"Well, where you going?"

"I just said, I've got things to do."

"Great, well, I'll come with you. Got nothing better to do."

Angel was about to growl a reply when Kate's voice broke the argument.

"Guys, I'll be back later tonight. Have fun."

Angel sighed and glared at his grandchilde, who simply smirked.

"Come on then."

Thirty minutes later and the pair had arrived at the one place that Angel hadn't visited in over two years. The pain had been too much for him, but all the same, he had a job to do. Gently opening the door, he slowly stepped inside, noticing the changes that had happened over the last couple of years, the possessions revealing the couple living here. Just before he could continue to brood, he was interrupted by Spike.

"Bollocks! Why can't I enter?"

"Guess you're not invited," Angel allowed himself a small smirk.

"Fine then. So, what's this job and why are you so depressed?"

With a sigh, Angel decided to answer, "Poltergeist, but really, it's just Dennis. And this is where Cordelia used to live."

The elder vampire was grateful that Spike remained silent, having known of the complicated relationship between him and Cordelia. A moment later, Angel felt a cool breeze and knew that Dennis had detected his presence.

"Hey, Dennis, remember me?" Angel asked.

A fallen photograph signalled yes, allowing Angel a sigh of relief. It had been so long and he wondered if he was going to be thrown out of the apartment, but for now, Dennis seemed content with keeping him. Perhaps having a familiar face around might help in calming the ghost down.

"How's it been?" Angel asked.

Spike scoffed and rolled his eyes, leaning against the invisible barrier preventing him from entering the premises. He knew the pain the elder vampire was going through and had decided to keep quiet on the matter, although seeing Angel somewhat talking to himself was a little bit amusing. Like he had finally gone loopy.

"Listen, Dennis, I know you're upset at having new people live here and I know you miss Cordelia. I do too. But, how about we reach an agreement? If you can pretend to be non-existent while the people are here, I promise to visit every now and again."

The fallen photograph was lifted back to its original place, signalling Dennis' agreement.

"Great. Thanks, Dennis. We'll catch up another day."

Leaving the apartment, Angel locked the door behind him and headed for the exit, as Spike fell into step beside him. The elder vampire was in brood mode, hands in his pockets, as the pair reached the sewers. Upon entering, Spike got bored of the silence.

"So, I ran into a few friends from those friends of ours."

"Uh-huh. So?"

"Well, he did have a message for you. Not entirely sure what the full message was on the account of me bashing his skull in-"

"Get to the point," Angel growled.

"Wolfram and Hart is planning something. Something big for us," Spike replied, "I don't know what, but I think it's something that can kill us. Well, you anyway."

"I'm already looking forward to it."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Justine smiled to herself as she placed the bloodstained instrument back onto the table, along with the rest of the bloodstained instruments. Sucking blood off the tip of her finger, Justine turned back to Buffy, who was hanging limply from her chains, her head bowed and blood running from the numerous torture wounds on her near-naked body. Sauntering over to the limp Slayer, Justine considered where she was going to bite next, having already left marks on Buffy's neck, wrist and inner thigh. Just as she vamped out, she was interrupted by the arrival of a vampire lackey.

"Justine! He wants to see you."

Justine rolled her feral gold eyes in annoyance, shifting back to human features as she turned on the lackey, who shrank back from her penetrating stare.

"He sure knows how to ruin mealtimes, doesn't he?"

"I apologize-"

"Oh shut up," Justine growled, heading for the door, "Now come on!"

The lackey groaned as he followed after Justine, wanting a taste of the Slayer. Guess it'll have to wait for another day. As soon as they left, Buffy opened her eyes, darkness clouding her vision. She felt incredibly weak and light-headed, the latest round of torture having gone on longer than normal. She had lost track of time, with no idea on how long she had been here or how much longer she was going to endure the torture for. All she had learnt so far was that Justine was working for someone who had an interest in Buffy, but what, she didn't know.

Thinking of Dawn, Buffy wondered what her sister was doing. Most likely going frantic. She hoped that Willow would be able to find her and then her friends will be able to storm the building, kill everyone and free her. Holding onto that hope, Buffy allowed herself to drift off into unconsciousness.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"How's everything coming along?" Doctor Sparrow asked.

Hobbling along with the aid of a cane, he waited patiently for one of his underlings to finish his work in order to report to him.

"We've had some difficulties, but that's always been expected. I'm proud to say it's coming along great and we'll have it up and running in no time."

A mournful and agonised scream rang out from inside the chamber, forcing nearby occupants to hold their ears in pain, as a scientist flicked a switch, charging a massive surge of electricity into the chamber, electrocuting whatever was inside. The scream soon died off, as Sparrow smiled sinisterly to himself. Once this operation was completed, he would finally have his chance at revenge.

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	4. College Demon

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Dawn was getting worried.

It had been at least two days since she last heard from Buffy. When Buffy first didn't return from the clubs, Dawn had assumed she had met someone there and gone away with him. But when Buffy didn't return home later that day nor even call her, Dawn started going frantic. Several calls to Buffy's phone revealed that it wasn't working, but that didn't stop the younger Summers from trying. She had also contacted the other Scoobies, but not one of them had heard from Buffy, although Willow did offer to try a location spell. Now, Dawn was pacing the living room, wringing her hands as she waited for the phone call from the red-haired witch.

The phone finally rang and Dawn practically jumped out of her skin in surprise (thankful that she wasn't living on the Hellmouth or that would have literally happened), and she dashed over to the phone, fumbling it as she answered.

"Buffy?"

"Sorry, Dawnie, but no Buffy," Willow replied, "Just me. I'm afraid I've got some bad news and well…just bad news."

"How bad?"

"Well, sweetie, I did that locator spell and…well, um…Buffy's nowhere to be found."

"What?" Dawn cried, her grip tightening on the phone.

"I did Rome at least three times, then I went global," Willow said hurriedly, "No Buffy."

"What does that mean?"

"She's disappeared off the face of the earth."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Connor sighed as he waited for college to finish. The day had been dragging on and now he had to spend only two hours in a classroom with a substitute teacher before he could go home, so to kill time, Connor decided to engage in a paper dart war with some of his friends, as well as texting Spike for amusement. Finally, the time came for the end of class and Connor never felt so relieved to be heading home. Packing away his study books, he was heading for the exit, when the teacher called him back.

"What is it, sir?" Connor asked, shifting his backpack to his other shoulder.

"I noticed how you weren't paying attention in class today," the teacher replied.

"Oh, yeah, sorry…I guess."

By now, they were the only ones left in the classroom, with Connor hoping that he would be let go soon. He really wanted to go home and hang out with his father.

"Anything else?" Connor asked.

"Sure thing," the teacher replied.

His hand suddenly shot out and grabbed the teenager by the throat, before hurling him through the air. Connor crashed amongst the desks, groaning in pain as he rolled over onto his stomach, watching as the teacher's skin and clothes were shed, falling to the ground to reveal the demon's true form, a large hulk of a beast with dark thick skin and irregular fangs. Reaching under the teacher's desk, the demon drew out a large axe and stomped up towards Connor, as he hurriedly got to his feet.

"Okay, so this is new. Here you are, attacking me right in the middle of public and no doubt on orders from Wolfram and Hart. How do we go about this?"

"I kill you," the demon snarled in reply.

"Yeah, cause that always ends so well for you guys," Connor said sarcastically.

The demon lunged, swinging the axe, as Connor dived out of the way, throwing his schoolbag at the demon's face. Catching him by surprise, Connor then launched a desk at the beast, throwing him off guard, before leaping onto a desk and lashing out with a kick. Unfortunately, the demon caught him by the leg and raised his axe, but Connor dropped himself onto the desk, the axe sailing just inches overhead.

_"Damn, that was close. Too close!"_

With his free leg, Connor kicked the demon in the jaw, freeing his other leg and rolled off the desk, before shoving it towards the demon as he raised his axe, the desk momentarily halting his attack, but it was enough for Connor to race down towards the exit. Just as he grasped the door handle, he was yanked from behind and hurled away from the door, the demon standing between him and the exit.

_"Okay, how to get out of this one intact. What would Angel do?"_

The demon roared and charged again, leaping through the air, his axe sinking into the wooden floorboards, as Connor moved in swiftly, striking fast and hard into the demon's unprotected ribs. The demon snarled and whirled around with a backhand, but Connor ducked, striking him in the stomach, only for the demon to boot him in the chest. Connor slid along the floor, before flipping up onto his feet, just as the axe came sailing for his head. Ducking under the blade in time, Connor slammed his shoulder into the demon's ribs, forcing him back a few inches, then began delivering blows to the demon's mid-section. He growled and grabbed Connor by the back of his shirt, lifting him off the ground, but Connor kneed him in the jaw, freeing himself.

The demon snarled in annoyance, as Connor took the opportunity to launch a powerful kick straight into the demon's knee, snapping it. The demon howled, clutching his knee in agony, dropping his axe in the process. Smirking, Connor seized the axe and implanted the blade into the demon's head. He instantly dropped.

"Well…how am I going to explain this one?" Connor asked himself.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Angel and Spike returned back to the Hyperion to find that the phone was ringing off the hook. The elder vampire moved with lightning speed, answering the call.

"Angel Investigations. We help the-"

"Angel!" came an urgent, familiar voice over the line.

The vampire frowned, moreso in surprise than anything else, "Willow?"

"I - we - I need your help! Buffy's gone missing!"

"Missing? Missing where? How? What are you talking about?"

Spike had perked up at the first mention of Buffy's name and was puzzled over what the witch was talking about. Since when and how did Buffy go missing?

"According to Dawn, Buffy went missing about two days ago," Willow replied, a little calmer now, "I tried a location spell, but I couldn't find Buffy anywhere on the global map. And I mean anywhere."

"Okay, okay, listen, we'll keep an eye out for her here. If we hear or see anything, we'll let you know."

Farewelling the witch, Angel hung up and slowly turned to Spike.

"I guess you heard that?"

"Duh. So, Buffy's missing? Which means we gotta find her."

"Spike, don't go rushing into this just yet. If Willow was unable to locate Buffy, that means that whoever has Buffy has a lot of powerful magic on their side."

"Yeah, well, when someone like her just ups and disappears, there's bound to be word passing 'bout on the streets. I'm gonna find those words."

"Spike!"

But Spike was already back in the basement, entering the sewers and heading to one of the nearest demon bars. He hoped that someone or something had heard of Buffy's kidnapping. There was no way in the world that an incident like that wouldn't cause any waves in the demon world. He just prayed she was still alive when they found her.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Jacob Crane?"

The aristocratic man looked up from his dinner, as a young man sat before him. He was stocky and muscular, with closely-shaved hair and a small beard. Dressed in casual clothes consisting of a T-shirt and jeans, the young man stared intensely at Crane, who was starting to become unnerved.

"Can I help you?"

"You're the one who goes around L.A., carving up creatures as delicacies? And not just demons or werewolves, but sometimes humans as well."

"I just do what my high-paying customers ask for," Crane said stiffly.

The man leaned back in his chair, one arm slung over the back, a smirk on his face.

"Is that so? Is that how you justify the murder of numerous, innocent people?"

"I don't think this is any of your business, boy. You should leave."

"Don't worry, I'm already planning on leaving. But first, I gotta do this."

Rising up from the chair, the man grinned as he underwent a transformation. His hair disappeared as his eyes turned a pupil-less white. His shirt was ripped from his expanding body, muscles becoming thicker and stronger, as his skin turned dark blue and runic markings appeared on his body. A pair of horns erupted from his skull, as a long thick tail completed the transformation. Crane stared in horror at the demon before him, fear preventing him from running for his life.

The demon raised his hand and Crane felt the air get colder around him, dropping rapidly in temperature, as an orb of ice appeared around him, constricting him. Crane pressed his hands against the ice, eyes wide in horror, as the demon then slashed the air with his claws and the ice orb, including Crane, shattered into a million, bloodied pieces. Satisfied, the demon resumed his human form and drew out a list from his pocket.

"Jacob Crane. Done. Next, Angelus."

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	5. Eddie Hope part 1

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Connor returned to the Hyperion to find his father in the office, hanging up the phone and going over some paperwork. Setting his bag down by the couch, Connor headed into the office and took a seat before the desk.

"Hey," Angel greeted, "How was college."

"Oh, it was great," Connor replied, "Turns out, the substitute teacher was actually a demon and tried to kill me. But it's cool, I killed him instead," he said off Angel's look.

"Dammit," Angel growled, "I bet it was Wolfram and Hart, right?"

His son nodded. The vampire sighed in frustration, staring at the paperwork. Since receiving the call from Willow, Angel had been going through his contacts, trying to see if they had heard anything about Buffy's disappearance. While he was doing that, he was also trying to work his way through the case files, but now, he decided to give up on them and let Kate do it when she came back.

"I think we should really do something about them," Connor said, "These assassination attempts are starting to bug me. And cut in on my assignment time."

"I would have thought after constantly losing assassins, they would learn," Angel said, "But hey, this is Wolfram and Hart. They never do."

"We could always blow up the building," Connor suggested, "Would that work?"

"No," was his father's reply, although he was seriously contemplating it.

"What's on your mind?" Connor asked after a moment.

"Buffy's missing," Angel replied, "Spike's out on the street trying to get information."

"Okay, so is there a plan or anything?"

Angel shrugged, "Well, we could destroy Wolfram and Hart. That might put a halt on any plans the Partners have got with assassinating us. Then we search for Buffy."

"You know a place where we could get explosives?"

"I know a person. But in the mean time, you work on your assignments and I'll be in the basement. This paperwork thing is giving me a headache."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Smack!

Spike staggered back, hitting the wall and holding himself there, careful that he didn't fall into the afternoon sun. The demon advanced, growling as he grabbed Spike by the front of his shirt, lifting him up and drawing back his fist.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot here," Spike said.

The demon snarled and struck the vampire, drawing blood, whilst letting him go at the same time. Spike chuckled from his position on the alley floor, wiping the blood away, before getting to his feet, as the demon struck him again.

"I don't know how asking about Buffy Summers led to this situation."

"No-one here likes you, Spike," the demon growled, "You shouldn't have come here."

"Well, I was just looking for information. A Slayer like Buffy who suddenly disappears? Gotta be something buzzing about."

"Sorry, bloodsucker, but I know nothing."

"That's a shame then."

The demon swung his fist again, but Spike dodged, moving around to behind the demon and grabbing hold of his head, before snapping his neck and killing him.

"A real shame indeed."

Spike was about to head back inside to get away from the sunlight, when he felt a presence nearby and turned around to face a young man. He was stocky and muscular, with closely shaved hair and a small beard. Wearing a T-shirt and jeans, the man was staring at Spike with such intensity, the vampire thought he was going to pop a vein.

"You want something or you just gonna keep staring?" Spike asked, "Either way, I'm heading back inside. Sunlight and vampires don't mix."

"William the Bloody," the man said just as Spike turned away.

"Oh, so you know me? Strange, cause I don't know you."

"I'm Eddie Hope and you're on my list."

"Ooh, sounds likes fun. What list is that by the way?"

Eddie didn't reply. Instead, he simply began to transform. His hair disappeared as his eyes turned a pupil-less white. His shirt was ripped from his expanding body, muscles becoming thicker and stronger, as his skin turned dark blue and runic markings appeared on his body. A pair of horns erupted from his skull, as a long thick tail completed the transformation. Spike let out a low whistle once Eddie was done.

"Impressive. But I'm already bored. Ciao."

Spike turned back to the door, but the air before him suddenly turned to ice. With vampire reflexes, he avoided the explosion of ice, barely dodging the shrapnel, but the manoeuvre put him in direct contact with the sun. Yelping, Spike darted back into the safety of the shadows, just as Eddie fell upon him, fist slamming into his jaw.

"So, what did I do to warrant this?" Spike asked, careful of his surroundings.

"You're a killer, Spike," Eddie replied, "You must be terminated."

He lashed out with a punch, but Spike dodged and cracked him in the jaw. However, his tail whipped around and caught Spike in the side, throwing him against the wall. Spike's hand sizzled when it landed in the sunlight and he quickly scurried away, getting to his feet, just as Eddie kicked him in the stomach.

"Right, bugger this," Spike growled.

Punching Eddie in the face, the vampire ducked back inside the pub, moving swiftly past the demons and heading to the back to access the sewers. Eddie growled and gave chase, dropping down into the sewers and spotting Spike's duster whipping around the corner. Breaking into a run, Eddie rounded the corner, just as Spike punched him in the face, his gold eyes flashing, as he followed up with a second blow. Eddie spun around, his tail whipping high, but Spike ducked, landing another punch. Growling, Eddie caught Spike's fist and kicked him in the stomach, then struck him to the ground. Spike rolled back onto his feet, baring his fangs, as Eddie raised his hand. Darting back, Spike narrowly avoided being encased in an orb of ice and grinned when he noticed that the orb was between him and Eddie.

"So long, Hopeless. I truly hope we don't meet again."

Resuming his human face, Spike shot Eddie the bowfinger and took off, as Eddie growled to himself in annoyance at his quarry having escaped.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

The vampire growled and withdrew, as Buffy struggled to hold the tears in. She had never felt so dirty in her life, as she watched the vampire pull his pants on and leave the room. Only then did she let the tears fall. She wished that either Willow would find her soon or that her captors would hurry up and just kill her. She had enough of the torture, both physical and sexual. Especially the sexual part. She felt like a toy, a dirty little toy to be used and cast aside. Now she could really understand how Spike really felt during their violent sexual tryst together.

Briefly, Buffy allowed herself to think of Spike, now that she had reminded herself. She could still remember the resistance in his eyes when she told him that she loved him. Her heart had broke when he didn't believe her, but it was true. She truly did love him. She was just disappointed with herself that she hadn't realised it earlier and now, she would never have that chance.

Just then, the door swung open and Justine sauntered in. Buffy immediately stopped her crying, not wanting to give the vampire ammo to taunt her with, but she couldn't help the sniffling and Justine immediately picked up on it.

"You crying? The mighty Slayer shedding a few tears? Delicious."

"So…how long we going to keep doing this song and dance?" Buffy asked, her voice sounding ragged.

"Until he says otherwise," Justine replied, fingering the torture instruments.

"Who's 'he'? What does he want with me?"

"Well, you can ask him yourself. I think it's time for a meeting."

Justine grinned and stepped aside, as the door opened and a man walked in. He was tall and muscular, with chin-length jet black hair and crystal blue eyes. He would have been considered beautiful if he wasn't an evil vampire. He was wearing a short open black leather vest and tight black leather pants, with a leather armband on his right arm and a pair of heavy black motorcycle boots. A bikie rebel.

"Slayer, I'd like you to meet Angus," Justine said.

"Buffy Summers," Angus said, his voice smooth like silk with a dangerous undertone, "A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance."

"Go to hell."

Angus chuckled, "I've already been there, darling. It was very boring."

Stepping towards the Slayer, he traced a finger down her cheek and along her jaw line, before moving behind her, his fingers trailing along her neck and stopping against the bite mark. Leaning forth, Angus inhaled deeply, closing his eyes.

"Slayer blood. Like an aphrodisiac. A taste is indeed required."

His face shifted and he sank his fangs into her flesh.

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	6. Eddie Hope part 2

**XXXXXXXXXX**

The sun was settling towards the horizon and Angel was in the basement of the hotel, dodging or blocking Kate's blows. Both were dressed in their training outfits as they sparred together. Although Kate was skilled in some forms of martial arts and could hold her own against a young vampire, Angel decided to train her himself, expanding her abilities and improve her skills. While their sessions did remind him of Cordelia, Angel was able to shut those memories away until after the lesson, during which he would sometimes head upstairs and brood about his former seer.

Kate's fist slammed into his jaw, bringing Angel out of his thoughts. Blocking Kate's next punch, Angel moved around her, throwing her off balance. Kate whirled around, regaining her stance, before rushing forth with a high kick. Angel blocked and swung his fist, but Kate blocked with both arms, whirling around and landing a kick on Angel's chest. He stumbled and she went for a punch, but he caught her arm and threw her over his shoulder onto the floor, pinning her down.

"You win," Kate said, "Now let me up."

Angel pulled her to her feet, before tossing her a small towel, which Kate slung across her neck as she drank from her water bottle, joining Angel on the stairs.

"What's on your mind?" Kate asked.

"Thinking about going out and blowing up Wolfram and Hart," Angel replied.

"Yeah? And how are you going to do that?"

"I know a guy who can hook me up with explosives. I figure it's the best way we can buy ourselves some extra time."

"Don't you think this will make Wolfram and Hart come down really hard on you?" Kate asked, "I mean, by sending all available minions."

Angel chuckled, "They've done that before and we won. Barely, but we still won. Whatever they send next won't be too much of a threat."

At that moment, Spike burst into the basement.

"Angel! Problem!"

The elder vampire growled, "Why must you always bring bad news?"

"Cause it's amusing to see you tick."

"So what's the problem?" Kate asked, "And is it ours or yours?"

"Bit of both," Spike replied, "It was mine, now it's ours. There's this guy who can turn into a demon and he's able to create ice out of thin air."

"I've never heard of a demon like that," Angel said, "And I know a lot."

He followed Kate and Spike upstairs into the lobby, where Connor was currently talking to a young man. However, Spike stopped short at the sight of the man, as he stood and turned around, revealing himself as Eddie Hope.

"Uh, Angel, that's the guy right there."

"Angelus," Eddie said, "We finally meet."

"I think you're mistaken," Angel said, "The name's Angel. Has been for a hundred years. Where have you been?"

"Europe."

Eddie flung his coat off and transformed, before raising his hand to Angel. However, he had forgotten about Connor behind him and the teenager struck Eddie in the back of the head. He responded by striking Connor on the head with his tail, before whirling around and backhanding him along the lobby floor. Turning back to his target, Eddie was struck in the jaw by Angel, who followed up with a second punch. Eddie blocked and kneed Angel in the stomach, then punched him to the ground. Spike came in next, landing a kick on Eddie's head. He barely flinched, grabbing Spike's arm on the punch and throwing him into the railing on the second floor. A gunshot rang out and Eddie growled in annoyance as the bullet sank into his flesh, before raising his hand towards Kate. A wave of large ice crystals shot towards the former detective and she barely managed to dive out of the way in time.

"Kate!" Angel cried.

Eddie whirled around, blocking Connor's punch and grabbing the teenager by the head, before connecting their heads together. Connor staggered back, receiving a kick to the chest that knocked him to the floor. Spike grabbed Eddie from behind, getting thrown over the shoulder and narrowly dodging Eddie's fist that slammed into the floor. Quickly getting up, Spike dodged Eddie's fist and struck him in the ribs, as Eddie responded with a backhand. Angel vamped out, punching Eddie in the face, then backhanded him, before performing a roundhouse kick. Eddie snarled, whirling around from the blow, his tail whipping about, but Angel caught hold of his tail and pulled him back, then struck him in the throat with a knife hand blow. Eddie choked, as Angel dropped and swept his legs out from underneath him, then fell upon him, grabbing hold of his arms and pinning them behind his back, then grabbed his throat.

"Give in or I'll tear your throat out," Angel threatened.

However, Eddie's tail snapped forth, knocking Angel aside, but he was quickly back on his feet, kicking Eddie in the face as he went to get up. Eddie fell onto his back and attempted to get up once more, but Angel struck him in the face, followed by another blow. Several more fast and powerful blows rendered Eddie human and unconscious.

"Connor, Spike, take him downstairs," Angel said, shifting back to normal, "Chain him up and do it securely. I have some questions for him."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

When Eddie woke up, he found himself chained tightly to a small chair and locked away in a cage, while Angel, Spike, Kate and Connor were standing outside the cage, watching and waiting.

"Good to see you're awake," Angel said, "Great, let's get started. Who are you?"

"The name's Eddie Hope."

"Okay. What do you do?"

"I hunt down those who harm innocents and punish them. I am judge, jury and executioner."

"Sorry, Dredd, doesn't work like that around here," Spike said.

"Why were you targeting me?" Angel asked, ignoring his grandchilde, "All the atrocities I caused as Angelus were done over a hundred years ago. You're a bit late."

"Doesn't matter," Eddie replied, "You still caused them. You need to be punished."

"Don't worry, I already am. It's caused having a soul. Gypsies sure are funny people."

"Gypsies? Soul? None of those things matter. Punishment is still required."

"Not in my city," Angel said, "Now, you're lucky I'm in a good mood-"

Spike scoffed, "That's rare."

"-So here's what's gonna happen: I'll let you go if you leave Los Angeles."

"You're still on my list," Eddie said, "You still need to be crossed off."

"Perhaps another day," Angel said, "Now, do we have a deal?"

Eddie glared hatefully at the vampire, who easily glared straight back. After a staring competition that lasted for at least two minutes, Eddie finally gave in.

"Alright, fine. I'll leave the city. But I promise, Angelus, I will return."

"I look forward to it," Angel said, unlocking the cage.

Spike and Connor moved, hauling Eddie to his feet and taking him up to the lobby doors, where they removed his chains and tossed him back his coat.

"Alright, now get outta here," Spike said, "Don't come back."

"Oh I'll be back," Eddie said, "I'll be coming for you too, Spike."

"I'll mark it on my calendar."

With a final glare, Eddie stalked off into the night.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Fading in and out of consciousness, Buffy drowsily raised her head when she heard the door open and Angus walked in, fingering a pair of scissors. He smiled as he closed the gap, tracing a finger down Buffy's cheek, then running a hand through her long hair, as if he was savouring the feel of her hair like a lover would. Bringing her hair to his nose, Angus inhaled deeply and let out a contented sigh.

"Beautiful as always, Slayer."

"What's the scissors for?" Buffy managed to choke out.

Angus grinned, "Part of my plan for you, though it's mostly cosmetical really."

Roughly grabbing her hair, Angus grinned as he began cutting the lengths away. Buffy refused to cry at the loss of her hair, as Angus stepped back and smirked to himself, pleased with his handiwork. Her hair had been shortened to just below her chin, as Angus rubbed a thick lock of hair against his face, nuzzling it as he placed the scissors aside, before heading back over to Buffy, who refused to look up at him. He grinned and roughly grabbed her jaw, forcing her to look at him.

"You look good, Slayer. Like a little innocent. An innocent toy."

"When you're done torturing me, can you hurry up and kill me?"

Angus laughed, "Now why would I want to do that? Especially after going through all that trouble to capture you? No, Slayer, you've got it all wrong."

Vamping out, Angus grinned as he pressed up against Buffy and sank his fangs into her neck once more, clutching her body to his as he drained her.

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	7. Going to Plan B

**XXXXXXXXXX**

KA-BOOM!

The building formerly known as Wolfram and Hart came crashing down in a pillar of flames, as the four instigators watched on from a nearby building rooftop. Spike had a grin on his face, while Angel was sombre. He wasn't sure if this was entirely the answer, but perhaps now, Wolfram and Hart might send all their resources to attack at once. If they survived, then they would at least have some breathing space and give them a chance to focus on helping others without the threat of Wolfram and Hart breathing down their necks. Turning away from the inferno, Angel dropped off the side of the building, landing on the pavement and began walking back to the Plymouth. He got in, just as the others joined him and they drove away.

"They're going to hit us hard now," Connor stated.

"Whatever they send can't be any worse than the alley," Spike said, "At most, it'll just be a bunch of demons and vampires. Nothing more."

"Still, we have to prepare for anything," Angel broke in, "They're not exactly going to let this one slide."

Racing back to the Hyperion, Angel hurried inside to the weapons cabinet and began handing out weapons to Connor and Spike, while Kate moved to the firearms cabinet she kept in Cordelia's former office, loading up a shotgun, as a yell rang out. Connor whirled around, swinging his sword and decapitated the vampire. Kate heard a noise from her right and whirled around as a demon came rushing out at her from the office. Bringing the shotgun around, she fired a single blast into the demon's chest, bringing it down. Carefully, she inched closer to the demon, as it suddenly lunged from the floor, but Kate instinctively pulled the trigger, this time, hitting it in the head.

"You alright?" Angel asked, joining her side.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Uh, incoming," Spike called, "And there's a lot incoming too."

Firing his crossbow, he dusted one of the vampires, as the rest came at him, while a few demons came leaping from the second floor. Kate blasted away with her shotgun, as Angel moved in, swinging his sword. The demon fell dead at his feet, as Spike struck a vampire in the jaw, then kneed him in the stomach. As the vampire doubled over, Spike punched him in the chest, the stake shooting out of his sleeve and into the vampire's heart. Connor fired the crossbow, hitting the demon in the neck, as Angel cut down another two demons. The doors to the Hyperion shattered and seven Mohra demons stepped in, all brandishing their swords.

"Aim for the gem in their foreheads," Angel said, "Only way to take them down."

Kate struck a vampire in the jaw with the stock of her shotgun, before decapitating the vampire with a shot to the head. The shotgun clicked and she dropped it aside, drawing her handgun as the Mohra demons joined the fray. Taking careful aim, she lined up a target and pulled the trigger. The gem shattered and the demon cried out as he was consumed by a flash of light. Two Mohra demons converged on Angel, as he smacked one sword aside and deflected the other, but the first Mohra then stabbed him in the flank. He cried out, as the second Mohra impaled him in the chest.

"Angel!" Spike cried.

He kicked a demon in the stomach, before slicing his sword through the demon's chest, removing the blade as a Mohra demon fell upon him. Throwing his elbow back, Spike knocked the demon back and swung his sword, but the Mohra was quick, easily blocking the weapon. A gunshot rang out, hitting a demon square between the eyes, as a vampire grabbed Kate from behind and bared his fangs. Connor leapt in, tearing the vampire away and rammed a stake into his heart, as more demons arrived.

"Dad! There's too many!"

"So go…to Plan…B," Angel groaned.

He caught the sword coming for his neck, ignoring the pain as the steel bit into his flesh and he shoved the Mohra back, before slugging the second Mohra in the face, the sword getting removed from his torso. Swinging his sword around, Angel sliced a demon in half, as Connor and Kate moved towards the basement, the former smacking a vampire aside, while Angel had grabbed Spike by the back of his duster and dragged him after the others. Once in the basement, Connor opened up the sewers and dropped inside, as Spike jumped in after him. Kate handed Angel a detonator and followed after the two, while Angel looked around the basement with a sad look, viewing the satchels of explosives, as a vampire rushed into the basement. Throwing a bag at the vampire, Angel dropped down into the sewers, before squeezing the button on the detonator. The sewers rumbled as the Hyperion exploded in a shower of rubble and fire, incinerating everyone and everything inside the building. Spike, Connor, Kate and Angel hurried through the sewers, soon coming out into an alley. The elder vampire turned back in the direction of the Hyperion Hotel, sadness crossing his features, but he knew it was for the best.

"Angel, we have to keep moving!" Kate called, "Come on!"

Reluctantly, he followed after the former detective up a flight of fire escape stairs, as Spike opened an apartment window and slipped inside. The others followed suit, entering the small apartment that was adorned wall-to-wall with numerous markings and symbols, as Kate moved about turning lights on.

"So this is it, huh?" Connor said after looking around the place, "This is where we're going to be living? We had a hotel and now we've got a hovel!"

"It'll have to do for now," Angel said sternly, "We have to make the Senior Partners think we're dead or at the very least, out of the equation."

Spike snorted, "You know that's quite a far stretch, Angel. It won't be long before the Senior Poofs send their boys here."

"What boys? The ones we just blew up? If anything, it'll be a while."

"I hope you're right, big fella," Spike replied, "I hope you're right."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Buffy woke up with a gasp, her new surroundings confusing her, but not as much as her trying to catch her breath and there wasn't one coming. Panicking, Buffy fell off the cold steel table, landing gracefully on her hands and knees as she struggled to breathe, but found she was unable to…nor was it important that she couldn't breathe. Her body wasn't suffering from lack of oxygen. If anything, it felt stronger than ever before, much more agile and adept, connected to a chord of evil power.

Buffy took in one final gasp as realisation slammed into her from all sides and she collapsed completely on the floor, her hands running through her now-short hair. She couldn't believe it had actually happened to her. She was now what she killed. Used to kill. She was now a vampire, an evil blood-sucking creature of the night.

_"Nonononononono, not like this! It can't be like this!"_

Bringing her hands to her face and seeing how unnaturally graceful and clearer they were, she let out an agonising scream, collapsing on her side as she felt tears pricking her eyes.

_"Crying? Vampires can't cry. Why would they cry? They're evil! Wait, that means _I'm _evil too. I'm one of them now. No! I won't! I refuse!"_

Buffy was about to get up when the door opened and two vampires walked in. They were wearing their human guises, but she could tell from their scent. They paused in the doorway, seeing that she wasn't on the table, but it wasn't long before one of them grabbed her from behind by her hair, dragging her out into sight.

"Well, well, the Slayer. Up from the dead earlier than expected," a vampire grinned.

"What do you want?" Buffy asked, "What does Angus want with me?"

"It's not for us to know. We just do what we're told. Now, let's take a look at you."

Feeling the coldness of the room, Buffy realised she was only wearing just her underwear and couldn't help the feeling to cover herself from the lustful scrutiny of the vampires. One of the vampires was currently circling her and stopped right behind her, leaning in close and licking her throat. That was the last straw.

Her elbow snapped back into the vampire's face, breaking his nose. Blood spurted everywhere, as the vampire snarled and vamped out, but Buffy whirled around, her fist slamming into his chest and throwing him across the room. The other vampire shifted features and rushed in to subdue Buffy, but she broke out of his grip, spinning around and punching him in the jaw. As the vampire staggered, Buffy slammed him against the wall, before taking one of his pens and jamming it into his eye. The vampire cried out, as Buffy then punched him in the face, jamming the pen all the way into his skull. Stripping him of his coat, Buffy tugged it on and hurried out of the room, entering a short corridor. Two vampires in combat gear rounded the corner, stopping short when they saw Buffy. She snarled and rushed them with amazing speed, even for them. She punched one vampire in the jaw, whirling around to elbow the second in the face, then slammed her leg into the first vampire's stomach, before punching him to the ground. The second vampire snarled and lashed out with his fist, but Buffy caught his arm and twisted it behind his back, before breaking it at the shoulder. As the vampire cried out, Buffy delivered a bone-breaking kick to his knee, then punched the first vampire as he rose up, before grabbing hold of his head and snapping his neck. As both vampires fell to the ground, Buffy took a moment to gather herself, willing the demon to retreat, as her features shifted back to human. She looked down at the broken vampires before her, feeling some sort of satisfaction at their broken states. They were weak, nothing compared to her. Smiling devilishly to herself, Buffy started humming a small tune as she headed into the next corridor.

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	8. Tattooes

**XXXXXXXXXX**

The machine buzzed and whirled, as Angel carefully and painstakingly inked the tattoo into Kate's left forearm. He had been doing them for the past few hours, having already tattooed both Connor and Spike. Which left just him and Kate to be done. Taking a leaf out of Lindsey's book, Angel had copied the tattoos the former lawyer had worn and was now using them on his friends to help hide them from the Senior Partners. The buzzing finally stopped and he drew back to view his handiwork, wiping away any excess ink and blood, as Kate looked down at her new tattoo.

"Looks good," she commented.

"Yeah. Now we just have to do your chest," Angel said, getting more ink.

"That's no problem."

Before Angel could say anything, Kate stood straight up and removed her shirt. Angel briefly gaped at her milky white body, before moving the inks as Kate then laid on her back on the bench. Angel laid the template on her chest and the machine whirred to life once more.

"This one's gonna hurt. You ready?"

Kate nodded and he pressed the needle to her skin, expertly tracing the lines, before filling in the spaces until he was finally done and he stepped back with a sigh, turning the machine off, as Kate sat up, staring down at the new tattoo on her chest.

"So these are going to keep me hidden from the Senior Partners?" she asked sceptically, "I can walk right out into the open and they won't zap me?"

"Sure. Worked for Lindsey. Mostly. How good are you at artwork?" Angel asked.

"Stick figures were the best I could do," Kate replied.

"Well, you'll have to do," Angel said, "I don't trust Spike enough to let him tattoo me. Knowing him, he'll use it as a weapon, just for kicks."

"Alright. I'll do my best. No promises though."

"Ah, it's easy really. Just follow the lines and colour inside them. Nothing to it."

"Then I apologise in advance," Kate said, taking hold of the machine.

The needle bit into his skin, but Angel ignored the pain, as Kate slowly began to trace the tattoo, her eyes narrowed in concentration, as Angel watched her progress, helping her and giving her tips as she tattooed his body. Two hours later and she put the machine down, wiping the excess ink away from his chest. Angel sat up partially, watching as the tattoo healed, while Kate cleaned up the bench.

"Hey, you two lovebirds done in here?" Spike asked, sauntering into the kitchen and grinning when he saw their half-nakedness, "Decided to ink her a different way, Angel?"

"Spike, if you don't want to be on the receiving end of a stake, I'd suggest you get out," Kate replied, reaching for her shirt.

"Sounds like a great plan to me, seeing as how I'm all 'tooed up and invisible to the Senior Poofs upstairs. Can go out for a drink now and leave you guys to deal with the tension-"

"Spike, get out," Angel growled after he pulled his shirt on.

"Gone, Captain Boring."

"Wait, where's Connor?"

"He's gone out. He didn't want to sit around while you two play sexual tension. Bit awkward for him with you being his father and all."

"Alright, get out now."

Spike grinned and left the kitchen, as Angel heard him leave the apartment. Getting up from the bench, he began applying the bandages to Kate's tattoos to quicken the healing process, before packing all the equipment away.

"Too bad I don't have a healing factor like yours," Kate commented, pulling her shirt on.

"Yeah, it's pretty handy," Angel agreed, "Although the best way for me is this."

He held up the cup of blood, before placing it in the microwave, as Kate slightly grimaced. She knew she still wasn't quite accustomed to watching Angel drink blood and wasn't sure if she ever would be.

"I think everyone's got the right idea," Kate said, "I might go out for a while."

"Well, I know of a demon currently running around in the sewers causing a bit of terror," Angel said, "Want to help me track it down?"

"Uh, sure, why not? Got nothing better to do."

Angel nodded as he grabbed a few stakes, as well as a short sword that could be concealed under his coat, while Kate grabbed herself a couple of fighting daggers and checked her handgun for ammo, before tucking it into the band of her pants and concealing it with her shirt, as Angel held the door open for her.

"Let's go be heroes," Kate said.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"She's escaped," a vampire announced, "The Slayer's on the loose."

"Well, hurry up and contain her," Angus growled, "Don't come crying to me about it."

"We're trying, but we're losing men."

In a hallway of the facility, Buffy caught hold of a vampire's wrist, then smashed his face into the wall, before punching her fist through his skull. The vampire turned to dust, as three more vampires rushed at Buffy. She dropped and lifted her body, throwing one vampire over herself, then punched the other two vampires in the face at the same time. Grabbing one and throwing him into the other, Buffy darted past them, heading towards the end of the corridor, as a vampire arrived, wielding a shotgun. He took aim and fired, as Buffy staggered back from the blast.

"Why am I hearing gunshots?" Angus asked, "One wrong shot and all our work would have been for nothing!"

He moved over to view the security cameras, watching as Buffy ran in the opposite direction from the shotgun-wielding vampire. She darted around another corner, racing through the hallways at such speeds that Angus had trouble trying to watch her. She entered another corridor, as four vampires appeared, all carrying wooden stakes. Upon seeing them, Angus immediately grabbed a com-link and placed it in his ear.

"Can you tell me why you have stakes? I don't want her killed. We went through all that trouble of getting her, I don't really want to be ripping you guys apart."

The vampires froze, as Buffy smirked and her face shifted, her brow furrowing, fangs growing and her eyes changing from green to feral gold. With a snarl, Buffy lunged at the vampires, stealing a stake and plunging it into a vampire's heart. Within a matter of seconds, the vampires were four piles of dust, as Buffy resumed her human face and walked along the corridor, humming as she flipped the stake in her hand.

"Dammit. Bring in the witches," Angus ordered.

Exiting a hallway, Buffy found herself near the main centre of the facility, seeing the numerous vampires milling about the place, talking to each other and issuing orders, as more commando vampires were sent to capture her. Seeing the control deck, Buffy decided to head for it, knowing that with her combined Slayer and vampire strength, she could handle anything. Silently heading towards the hub, Buffy was thankful for the ability to move quietly, as she knocked on the door. When Angus and several tech vampires whirled around, she kicked the door right off its hinges. A vampire went for her, but Buffy slammed him against the wall and staked him through the back. Another vampire rushed her, but Buffy simply held the stake out and the vampire ran straight onto it. At that moment, a female vampire appeared, red squares of magic covering her hands and she sent forth a blast of energy. Buffy narrowly avoided it, as the vampire raised her hand, then sent a shockwave of energy to the floor. Buffy was knocked off her feet, as she was then pulled towards Angus by a tendril of magic.

"Buffy. Good to see you've risen from the dead. Again."

"I'm going to kill you for what you've done to me."

Angus chuckled, "Hardly. If anything, you should be thanking me. Aren't you now far more stronger and faster than ever before?"

"You've turned me into a monster!" Buffy cried.

"Yes and I've seen the evidence. You've demolished half my best men."

"Why did you do this to me? What's your game, Angus?"

He smirked with a twinkle in his eye, "That would be telling. Take her away."

"Yes sir," the vampire witch replied.

Flicking her wrist, Buffy tossed the stake at the vampire, breaking her concentration and the magic. Free of the restricting tendrils, Buffy punched Angus in the face, before charging towards one of the windows and diving out through it in a shower of glass. Commandoes arrived to subdue her, but Buffy leapt over them, before spying an 'exit' sign and sprinting towards it. Angus held his jaw in amusement, watching on the security cameras as Buffy left the facility.

"Sir, she's escaped. What do you want us to do?" asked a commando.

"Bring her back here obviously," Angus replied, "She won't get very far."

The vampire nodded and began barking out orders, as Angus smirked to himself.

"Run, run, run as fast as you can, Buffy. It's the beginning of the end."

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	9. Unfinished Business

**sheshe21:**** While there was nothing in the prompt to say Cordelia can or can't come back, I kinda want to hold off on her in this one, mainly because I think I overdo the whole 'Cordelia coming back in after the series stories', even though I would take any opportunity to do so. But, we might see some influence.**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

The couple were heading back to their car following the movie, having parked it a block away from the cinema due to traffic. The young man whispered something into his girlfriend's ear, causing her to giggle, as she looked up and caught sight of Buffy, who was wearing nothing more than a lab coat and her underwear, stains of blood covering her body as she staggered towards the couple.

"Oh my God, are you alright?" the woman cried, rushing to Buffy's side.

She nodded numbly, feeling the intense hunger burning inside her. Since escaping from the facility, Buffy hadn't been eating, unable to bring herself to drink, but now she had no choice. Her instincts were screaming at her and she was giving in to them. Vamping out, she grabbed hold of the terrified woman, fangs slicing into her neck. The boyfriend cried out and rushed to his girlfriend's aid, but Buffy tore herself away from her meal, backhanding him into an apartment wall and knocking him out, then turning back to her victim, the blood sating her demon's lust and bringing her senses alive. However, as the victim gasped and expired, Buffy's previous instincts kicked in, now that the demon had withdrawn and the former Slayer tore away with an agonised cry, wiping her mouth and seeing blood. While the Slayer side of her wanted to scream in horror at what she had done, the demon in her compelled her to lick the blood off her hand with satisfaction.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Angel swung his sword hard, the steel slicing into the demon and ending its life. Looking over his shoulder, Angel saw Kate slumped against the wall, holding a hand to her waist, the gun empty in her hand. Dropping the sword, he rushed to her side, lifting up her shirt slightly to inspect the wound.

"It's okay, Angel, it's not as bad as it looks," Kate grimaced.

"We still need to get you home," Angel said, "Come on."

Gently picking the former detective up, Angel gazed longingly at his sword, before deciding to come back later, as Kate's life was more important and he took off back through the sewers, reaching the apartment and laying Kate on the couch, before retrieving the first aid kit. Kate held her shirt up for him as he worked on her injury, cleaning the blood away, while ignoring his instincts, then bandaged the wound.

"Thanks," Kate said once he was done.

"No problem. Now, stay here. I'll be back in a minute."

Packing the first aid kit away, Angel went back into the sewers to retrieve his sword, reaching the area where they had fought the demon, both its body and his sword still there. Just as he picked up his weapon, he was struck from behind, sent sprawling through the demon blood and body parts. He growled, vamping out to face the four vampires standing behind him, as he slowly rose up, sword in hand.

"Angel?" a vampire asked, "Heard you were dead. Deader than dead actually."

"Maybe you should stick with that news. Be better off for you."

"Maybe we should make that story really true. Get him boys."

Angel swung his sword high, decapitating one vampire, as the other three hit him at once. Staggering back, Angel lost hold of the sword from a kick to his hand, as a vampire punched him in the face. Growling, Angel struck the vampire back, parrying a second vampire's fist, as the leader came in with a kick. Catching his leg, Angel hurled him to the ground, as a stake ejected out of his sleeve and he staked a vampire. The third vampire came in from the side, but Angel shoved him against the wall, staking him through the back, turning back to see that the leader was now holding the sword. With a snarl, the vampire lunged, swinging the sword, but Angel easily dodged the blade, punching the vampire in the face.

"You're inexperienced. Easy to tell. You've never handled a sword in your life."

The vampire snarled and swung the sword in a wide arc, but Angel dodged the blade, before closing the distance and punching the vampire to the ground. He looked up, as Angel grabbed him by the front of his shirt, lifting him slightly off the ground, then jammed the stake into his heart. As the vampire turned to dust, Angel picked up his sword and set off towards home.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

The two beers slid across the bar, with Spike catching them both, handing one to Connor, who simply stared at it, while the vampire drained his glass dry.

"I'm a bit young to be drinking. Also, I don't like beer."

"Well, in that case then," Spike said, before drinking Connor's beer. He caught the look on Connor's face and sighed, "Oh great, Brooding Junior at play here."

"Sorry, Spike, I've just got a lot on my mind."

"Don't we all?" Spike retorted, ordering whiskey.

"Well, you try having two completely different sets of memories," Connor shot back, "One that's completely normal and human and the other…all supernatural drama."

"Our life in a nutshell. So, Young Brood, do tell what's on your mind. Maybe Uncle Spike could help make sense of what's in there, unless you're really like Angel, in which case, there is no hope for you."

Connor simply gave him a blank look for a moment, before continuing, "There's just a lot going on in there and it already makes sense. I can understand why Dad did what he did, it's just…what I did to him."

"Oh you mean the whole sinking him to the bottom of the ocean and stealing his girlfriend thing? Don't worry about it. Angel and I have done a lot worse than that to each other. I ever tell you about the time I tortured Angel for just a ring?"

"No. But what I did to Dad with the 'stealing his girlfriend' part. I can tell he still thinks about her after all this time. I guess it's part of why he broods a lot."

"That's just Angel all over," Spike said after downing a shot, "But if you're torturing yourself, well, Angel did tell me once that he doesn't blame you for your part."

Connor gave him a bewildered look, "Really? Why hasn't he told me this?"

Spike shrugged, "He told me when we were at Wolfram and Hart. And you know Angel isn't really big on emotions. Too scared of them. And he isn't fond of the whole big speeches, especially heart-to-heart ones. He sucks at them. But just know what I told you what he said: he doesn't blame you, Connor."

"But I destroyed her. I had at least had a part in it," Connor said, tears starting to prick his eyes, "I've always had a father. Holtz, Angel, the one from my fake life. But not really a mother. Darla died to have me and as for my fake mother, no matter how much I loved her, there was some tiny part of me that didn't click with her."

He took a deep breath, clearing his eyes, as Spike downed another shot. Seemed like he was going to need a stiffer drink for this outpouring of emotion.

"When I got my memories back, I got all of them. Including the ones from when I was a baby," Connor continued, "I could see what Cordelia really was to me, the way she looked after me and sang me to sleep, much like a mother would to a son. I had a mother figure and she was my first time. I guess that's why I'm called the Destroyer."

"Now listen, boy," Spike said, "You shouldn't blame yourself. If anything, blame the Powers, blame that Jasmine chick. I know Angel doesn't blame you and I'm pretty sure Cheerleader doesn't blame you at all and still loves you like her son. Now come on, what you say we have a drink, go out and kill something and put this behind us."

"Thanks, Spike," Connor said, "For listening. I just wanted to vent or something."

"And we're getting too touchy-feely now. Drink up and let's cause some chaos."

Connor smiled to himself as Spike ordered two more beers. Although the vampire had seemed like he wasn't much interested in hearing Connor's story, he had still given advice and it made Connor feel content. He had a small smile on his face, sharing it with Spike as they drank their beers together.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

The bell chimed as the door to the clothing store opened and Harmony rushed out from behind the counter, eager to serve her new customer. Ever since fleeing from Wolfram and Hart just before Angel and Hamilton's final confrontation, Harmony had been trying to get into fashion, wanting to launch her own clothing label, but she needed a launching pad first. Since she had a habit of designing clothes when she wasn't busy at the receptionist desk, Harmony had finally been able to land a job at a night-time clothing store, mainly working as a lowly receptionist, but she knew it was only a matter of time before she finally had her time to shine. Stepping around the racks of clothes, she stopped short at the sight of her customer.

"Buffy? Is that really you?"

"Harmony?" Buffy said blandly, "What are you doing here?"

"I-I work here. I help design the latest fashion. You smell funny. And you look," Harmony said, scrunching up her nose, "Really bad. What happened to you?"

"It doesn't matter," Buffy said, stepping further into the shop with confidence, "Now, if I remember correctly, I believe we have some unfinished business."

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	10. Rock of Ages

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"I think it looks good on you," Harmony said, pleased with herself.

Buffy stood before her, wearing a shiny black skirt, along with a red halter top. It had thin strings that crossed over her neck and ended up as an 'X' on her back. She was also wearing a pair of shiny black shoes that matched her skirt, while Harmony had applied the make-up with the few supplies she had, giving Buffy a dark and sexy look.

"It doesn't exactly feel like me, but at the same time, it does," Buffy said.

She had already tried to look at herself in the full-length mirror, but discovered that being a vampire prevented that, leaving her disappointed and having to rely on Harmony's word, which made her cringe on the inside.

"I think you look great," Harmony said, "Very sexy. If I were gay-"

"I wouldn't let you near me," Buffy cut her off, "Now, thanks for your help, Harmony, but I think I should get going."

She turned to leave, but Harmony grabbed her wrist, causing her to snarl.

"I'd let go of me if I were you," Buffy threatened.

"You can't just walk out without paying for your clothes," Harmony said.

With a growl, Buffy wrenched her wrist from Harmony's grasp, then backhanded her into the counter. Harmony groaned, feeling blood on the back of her head.

"Watch me."

Whirling away, Buffy then left the shop with a jingle of the bell. She began walking down the street, even having a bit of a skip in her step. Since becoming a vampire, she had felt more confident than ever and she wanted to show that off, hence the outfit she was currently wearing. However, once she reached the end of the street, she stopped and sniffed the air, turning around to see five vampires coming towards her, all wearing commando gear, as one reached for his holster.

"I assume you guys are with Angus?" Buffy asked.

"You're coming back with us," the leader growled, "Angus demands it."

"Nuh-uh. I'm not going anywhere with you."

The leader was within firing range and drew his taser, but Buffy acted first, smacking his hand aside so that he shot one of his companions, who instantly went down. The leader was then palmed in the face, his nose getting broken and he dropped, as the remaining three vampires moved for Buffy at once. She kicked one in the stomach and punched a second, before dodging the third vampire's fist and throwing him into a lamppost. Whirling around with a backhand, Buffy then kicked the vampire in the chest, throwing him back, as a vampire grabbed her from behind. Hitting him in the face with the back of her head, Buffy spun around, hurling him onto a wooden side bench. Grabbing a shard, she stabbed him in the back, as two vampires grabbed her arms, but she knocked them back, turning around to stake one in the heart. The leader and a remaining vampire both lunged, but Buffy darted between them, then staked the leader through the back, as the last vampire whirled around with a spinning high kick. Buffy staggered back from the blow, then countered his fist to strike him, before pushing onto his head and flipping him over onto his back. Staking him once he landed, Buffy then dusted the stunned vampire, before looking up at the CCTV security camera that had been recording the entire fight and she smiled.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

The sudden sound of Def Leppard's 'Rock of Ages' blaring in the room had Angel shooting upright and tossing his pillow at Spike, who dodged it with a chuckle.

"Time to wake up, princess."

"Go to hell, Spike," Angel snarled, collapsing back on the bed.

"Gotta go out and help the helpless, remember?"

Angel groaned, as Spike continued playing the song. After throwing his remaining pillow at the younger vampire, Angel growled in an annoyed tone and tore his sheets off, before storming out of bed, intent on murdering his grandchilde, but Spike was already in the living room with Connor, who was getting ready for college.

"Well, congratulations," Kate said, "You made the front page."

She held up the paper, showing the photo of the destroyed Hyperion. Angel sighed, not wanting any further reminders of how he had destroyed his home and he headed into the bathroom for a shower, as Kate sipped her coffee.

"Someone's grumpy."

"Yeah, it wouldn't have anything to do with Spike playing loud music," Connor said.

"What?" Spike asked nonchalantly, picking up his Gameboy, "Boy needs to be up and about, saving the damsels in distress from evil boyfriends, ghosts and the like."

"Shouldn't you be doing that?" Kate asked.

"Not my gig. I'm just here for kicks. Could go to the pub, but I think I've been kicked out of every demon pub in LA, which is really a lot."

Connor left the apartment for college, as Angel came out of the bathroom, wearing only a towel, as he whacked Spike on the head, before accepting a coffee from Kate.

"Peaches, you really need to let loose some tension," Spike smirked.

"You say any more and I'm going to personally stake you," Angel threatened.

Spike was about to say more, but then, the phone rang and his grandsire answered it. A moment later, he was back in his room, getting changed, before leaving the apartment without a word, as Spike looked at Kate.

"Wonder what that's all about."

Meanwhile, Angel made his way through the sewers to the police station, meeting up with his informant there, who led him to his work desk.

"So, what's this all about?" Angel asked.

"Well, you know how you wanted a phone call as soon as something about Buffy Summers came up?" the informant replied, "Well, I've found one."

He opened the file, showing a CCTV video of a street fight between a petite woman and five disfigured men in combat gear. Angel knew instantly that it was Buffy from the way she fought, easily dusting the vampires, although he hadn't known her to be that strong or fast. Then, she looked up at the camera and smiled, one that Angel had never seen on her face before. It was a smile he had seen regularly on Darla or Spike's face whenever they delighted in violence. The sinister smile of a vampire.

"How'd you get this?"

"It was taken in San Francisco. The force there ran it through facial recognition and her name came up. Since Sunnydale is destroyed, they sent it to us, given how Los Angeles had been her home prior to Sunnydale and they thought she'd come here."

Angel barely heard what the informant had said, too focused on Buffy's sinister smile. There was something different about her and he had to know, but he had a feeling he already knew what had happened to her and it made his dead heart sink like lead.

"Thank you for this," Angel said, "Keep up the good work."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

The vampire snarled in annoyance as his victim struggled in his grip, so he tossed him to the ground of the small alley. The young man hurriedly got to his feet and was about to yell out, but the vampire had moved forward suddenly, grabbing him by the throat and pinning him against the wall.

"Scream. I dare you. It's always good when they scream."

Grinning, he bared his fangs and reared his head back.

"Uh, excuse me?"

The vampire growled, turning around to find Buffy leaning against the wall. She shot him a smile and pushed off the wall, sauntering towards him, as he let his victim go.

"You smell like a Slayer," the vampire said, "Yet you smell like one of us."

"Yeah, annoying how that is," Buffy said, "But still, I can't let you eat him."

"Oh, you gonna stop me? You have any idea who I am?"

"Ugly with a side of stupid."

The vampire growled and stomped towards Buffy, who was busy inspecting her nails, but still managed to dodge the vampire's fist, hitting him in the ribs, followed by a blow to the jaw. The vampire staggered back, as Buffy launched another fist into his face, then grabbed him by his shirt and slammed him into the alley wall. The vampire groaned, as Buffy threw him into the opposite wall, then drew the stake out from her skirt and slammed it into his heart. The vampire roared as he turned to dust, as the young man shakily got to his feet. Buffy paused, smelling his fear and hearing his heart pound in his chest, her instincts coming alive as she approached him.

"Thank you, thank you so much!" the man cried, "He was going to kill me!"

"Don't worry about that," Buffy said, "Now I'm going to kill you!"

Before he could react, Buffy had pinned him against the wall, before vamping out and sinking her fangs into his throat. He groaned, as his blood poured down her throat and she sucked greedily at the hot liquid. Finally, her victim expired and she drew back, licking the blood off her lips as she dropped his body, her features shifting back to normal. She was about to turn and leave when she caught hold of a familiar scent, before spinning around to face the exit where the scent was coming from.

"Spike," Buffy growled.

"Buffy?" Spike questioned.

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	11. Confrontation

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Buffy, is that really you?" Spike asked.

He had been out patrolling through Los Angeles when he had somehow caught hold of her scent. Since it smelt different from before, Spike followed it to the alley, where he was now confronting the former Slayer and his suspicions were sadly confirmed: Buffy was no longer the Slayer he knew. This creature before him was simply now a shadow, a shell to be used by the bloodthirsty demon that now resided inside her.

"No, it's the Easter Bunny," Buffy retorted, "Of course it's me."

"But…it's not you, Buffy. Not anymore," Spike said.

"Oh, don't cry for me, Spike. I'm faster and stronger than ever before-"

"Yeah, well, it's just the fact that you're evil now, sweetheart."

He knew that he couldn't let her continue on like this. The Buffy he knew wouldn't want to be a murderer. He knew he had no choice but to lay her to rest, despite of what his feelings for her would say. He knew it would be what she would want. Buffy glanced at her victim and shrugged, before turning back to Spike.

"Does that mean you have to kill me?" she innocently asked.

"Fraid so, pet."

She smirked, "You could try."

She turned and ran away, as Spike quickly gave chase, but her comment about being faster was actually true, as Spike was struggling to catch up to her. And the fact that she didn't need to breathe meant he would have to outthink her in order to catch up. Buffy darted around a corner and disappeared from sight, as Spike took a moment to look around, spying her on the fire escape and he climbed after her. Buffy peeked over the side briefly, smiling to herself, before ducking through a small window, as Spike entered the small loft after her. Her fist suddenly slammed into his jaw, staggering him, as Buffy then threw him across the room.

"Buffy, what happened to you?" Spike asked, "How'd you end up like this?"

"How do you think?" Buffy replied, "The same way you make every other vampire."

"Who did this to you?"

"It doesn't matter, Spike. Not anymore. What's done is done."

She growled and rushed forth with a high kick. Spike ducked under her leg and rose up with a punch, but she blocked and palmed him in the chest. Catching his balance, Spike parried Buffy's fist and elbowed her in the face, followed by a second blow. Buffy fell onto her hands, her legs flipping up and striking Spike in the jaw, knocking him down onto his back. He groaned, as Buffy fell on him, wielding a stake and he quickly grabbed her wrist, struggling to hold her at bay.

"Come on, love, you don't want to do this," Spike growled.

"Don't you understand, Spike?" Buffy said, "I'm the Slayer. You're the vampire. That means I kill you, not sleep with you."

Spike pulled down on her arm, his elbow flying up into her jaw and knocking her aside. He flipped up onto his feet, whirling around as he vamped out, while Buffy was swiftly back on her feet, kicking him in the face. He spun around from the blow with a backhand, but Buffy caught his wrist and swung the stake under his arm, but he caught hold of her wrist, before kneeing her in the stomach. Smacking her across the face, Spike then kicked her in the stomach, as she lunged at him, but he threw her to the ground, grabbing hold of the stake and holding it above her heart as he pinned to the ground by her throat, staring into her green eyes.

"Do you really want to do this, Spike?" Buffy asked softly, "Do you really want to kill me, the woman that you claim to love?"

Spike faltered and Buffy took the chance to knock his hand aside, before kicking him back. Flipping up onto her feet, Buff gave him a smirk and dived out the window. With a growl as he resumed his human face, Spike quickly gave chase, landing on the road five stories below, running after Buffy as he drew out his cell phone.

"What is it?" came Angel's voice.

"You're not gonna believe it, Angel, but I'm chasing Buffy through the streets of Los Angeles," Spike replied, "I'm going to need back-up on this."

"Where are you?"

Running past an intersection, Spike caught sight of a road sign and quickly told Angel the address, before hanging up and focusing on the chase. He knew it would be a while for Angel to arrive, so he knew he would have to try and distract Buffy long enough for the back-up to make their presence. Racing off in a different direction, Spike was able to come out in front of Buffy, grabbing hold of her and swinging her around into the alley he had come out of. Buffy growled, punching him in the face, as he responded with a blow of his own. As he went to go for a second punch, Buffy did a backwards handspring, her feet striking him on the jaw and staggering him. She then slammed him against the wall, growling in annoyance to learn she no longer had possession of the stake, as he elbowed her in the jaw, then whirled around with a punch, followed by a small jumping punch, dropping Buffy to the ground.

"You know, this could go all night. Neither of us wants to land the killing blow. You can't bring yourself to do it and I'm having too much fun."

She swung her leg around, tripping Spike up, before getting up and taking off. Spike groaned in annoyance, getting up and giving chase once more, wondering when it was going to end. Buffy leapt over a wall and landed in a small marketplace, just as a 1967 Plymouth pulled up and Angel, Connor and Kate hopped out of the car.

"Angel. Nice to see you," Buffy grinned, "Been a while."

"I wish I could say the same, Buffy, but you're not her, are you?" Angel said.

"Oh, it's me alright. Think Angelus would like me now?"

"He'd still kill you anyway."

At that moment, Spike came leaping over the wall, as Buffy whirled around. She grabbed hold of him by his coat, as Connor rushed in, but he was taken down by Spike's thrown form, as Angel rushed in, while Kate sidestepped, her taser on Buffy as she went to blows with Angel. He slugged her in the face, going for a second punch, but she caught his wrist, kicking him in the chest, then in the face, as Connor and Spike untangled themselves, before getting up. Throwing Angel aside, Buffy moved for Connor, catching his fist and spinning around, flipping the teenager onto his back. Spike grabbed Buffy from behind, moving her away from Connor, but she broke out of his grip, whirling around to punch him in the face. Angel came in with a front kick, which Buffy blocked, as he then punched her in the jaw. Using the blow as momentum to land a spinning backhand, Buffy grabbed Angel by the back of his coat and threw him against the wall, before moving towards Kate, as she pulled the trigger. Dodging the darts, Buffy grabbed Kate's arm, bringing it up behind her back, while grabbing hold of her throat and using her as a shield as Angel, Spike and Connor surrounded her, though keeping their distances as Buffy gripped Kate's throat tighter.

"Seems like we have a bit of a stand-off," Buffy said, "What do we do about it?"

"Let her go," Angel said, "This is between me and you."

"Is it now? I don't think so, Angel. Maybe I should just kill her. I am kinda hungry."

She grinned and vamped out, bringing her fangs down to Kate's throat, but Angel stepped forth and Buffy withdrew, a small knowing smirk on her face.

"Do you care for her, Angel? And here I was thinking I was your one and only. Oh well, time passes and people move on. Hey, Angel, you remember Jenny?"

"You know, she talks too much," Connor said.

"Yes, I remember Jenny, just like all the others," Angel said softly.

"Good. So if I kill new-blondie here, would it remind her of you."

"Connor is right, you do talk too much."

"And I'm getting bored."

Shoving Kate aside, Buffy took off, as Connor and Spike gave chase, while Angel raced over to Kate, checking on her, mainly her neck.

"You should go after her," Kate said, "I'll be fine."

"Alright. We'll take care of this."

Knowing she would be fine, Angel left Kate behind and took off, weaving across the streets as he breathed in Buffy's scent, homing in on it as it led him to a nearby park. Upon reaching it, he found Buffy in combat with Connor and Spike, but mostly the latter, as the former was currently unconscious. Moving around to behind the fight pair, Angel rushed in silently, grabbing Buffy in a half-nelson, trapping her arms.

"Hey, what the f-"

"Keep her pinned, Angel, it'll be easier to deal with her," Spike said.

"Why is Connor unconscious?" Angel asked.

"She blind-sided him with a king hit. Took him down straight away."

"Are you two going to chat all night or what?" Buffy demanded, "You know, two hot guys, one hot girl, a dark park, we should make the most of it instead."

"Spike, knock her out," Angel said.

The younger vampire shrugged and struck Buffy in the face, as she grinned, licking the blood off her split lip. Angel adjusted his hold, bringing one arm around her throat while still trapping her arms, before applying pressure to her neck. Buffy groaned, as she soon passed out, falling limp in Angel's arms.

"Or you could do that," Spike said,

"Wake Connor up," Angel said, "We're going home."

"What are we doing to do with her?"

"I don't know, but we need to let Giles know what's happened to her."

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	12. Interrogation part 1

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Sir, it's ready," a scientist replied.

"Good," Dr. Sparrow smiled, "Initiate the subject."

The scientist nodded and began flicking switches and pulling levers, as Sparrow watched on. He was thankful that he had been able to save most of his work and transport it to a nearby safe house before Angel destroyed Wolfram and Hart. Now, the time had finally come for revenge and he couldn't wait to see it in action.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Buffy groaned and slowly opened her eyes. She tried to shift her body, but found she was unable to, on the account of being heavily chained to a bed. She growled, struggling to break free, but the chains held fast and she slumped against the bed. At that moment, the door swung open, as Angel and Spike walked in, the latter without his duster and carrying a tranquiliser rifle slung across his shoulders.

"To what do I owe this?" Buffy asked.

"I just wanna ask some questions," Angel replied, "Who sired you?"

"Ah, some guy named Angus. No biggie."

"Can you tell us how it happened, pet?" Spike asked.

Buffy rolled her eyes, "Right, so I can tell you so then you can kill me once you've got all your information? No thanks."

"We're not going to kill you," Angel said, "We're trying to help you."

"Maybe I don't want your help, unless you're gonna fetch me some blood."

Angel sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, while motioning to Spike. He left the room without a word, returning a moment later with a mug of blood. Settling a straw into the mug, he crouched beside Buffy and placed the straw into her mouth.

"This brings back memories," Spike chuckled, "A whole role reversal."

Buffy rolled her eyes as she drank the blood, as Angel came back into the room.

"Alright, I've called Giles and told him we've got her. He's going to get Willow to set up a portal and we'll be taking her to London. Perhaps Willow can help."

"Oh please, you really think Willow can make me do anything?" Buffy snorted, "Although, I do look forward to meeting her. Hey, Angel, remember that time when there was a vampire version of Willow?"

"There was a vampire version of Willow?" Spike asked incredulously.

"Yeah, there was," Angel replied, "She came in from a different reality, though we were able to send her back," he said, before turning to Buffy, "Now, are you implying what I think you're implying?"

She simply smirked, "Maybe."

"Did you tell them she's a vampire?" Spike asked.

Angel hesitated, "No. We'll tell them when we get there."

"That's gonna be interesting."

"Does anyone wanna hear what I think?" Buffy piped up.

"No," Angel replied.

"I think if you don't release me, you're gonna be a whole world of hurt when I do get out of here. I promise to hurt you so bad, Angelus would seem like a puppy dog."

"You think Willow can help her?" Spike asked Angel.

His grandsire shrugged, "We can only hope."

While Angel and Spike were busy in the bedroom, Kate was in the living room, reading the newspaper, while Connor was watching TV, boredom on his face. He wanted to go out on patrol, but he had to stay in the apartment for when the portal opened. He had already packed a few belongings, like everyone else and he was now waiting for the portal to open. A small part of him was excited, having never been to London before and wanting to see what it was like, while another part of him wasn't a big fan of portals, given how he ended up in Quor-toth.

A knock came at the door and Connor shared a frown with Kate, wondering who would be knocking. As far as any of them knew, they were the only ones to know of the apartment. Grabbing a dagger, Connor cautiously headed over to the front door, but before he could even touch the doorknob, the door was blasted off its hinges, taking him with it and depositing him against the far wall. Connor groaned, a bloodied burn appearing on his torso, as Kate rushed to his side, while Angel and Spike came back into the living room in bewilderment.

"What the bloody hell?" Spike started.

"Connor!" Angel cried.

He moved for his son, but a sudden shot of blue energy came hurtling his way, slamming him in the chest and against the wall. Angel hissed in pain, a bloodied scorch mark left behind by the attack, as Spike vamped out and rushed towards the doorframe. He was struck in the face, getting knocked to the ground, as a kick to his stomach slammed him against the opposite wall.

"What's going on there?" Buffy called, "Who's getting killed? I wanna see!"

Angel looked up, finally seeing the intruder and his jaw dropped in shock. Standing before him was none other than Illyria, except she looked different than before. For starters, she was wearing a black leather bodysuit and she looked to have several cybernetic enhancements, while her right arm ended in a ray cannon.

"No way," Angel said, "You're dead."

Illyria cocked her head to the side that he often found annoying, as if she was viewing him like he was an insect, before levelling the cannon at his head. At that moment, Spike grabbed her from behind, but she smacked his arms aside, before whirling around with an uppercut. Spike crashed through the ceiling, before landing in the bedroom beside Buffy.

"What's going on, sweetheart?"

Spike ignored her as he stormed back into the living room, fully intent on finding out what exactly had happened to Illyria. Last he'd seen her, she was giving her life so he and Angel could live. But now she was back and if Spike had an idea on how, it was something to do with Wolfram and Hart. Before he could move into action, Illyria fired a shot at Connor, instantly dissolving him. Kate was staring at the spot in horror, as she was the next to be completely dissolved by the ray cannon. Angel vamped out, leaping in and punching Illyria in the face, as she stabbed a stake into his heart. Spike was helpless to watch as Angel burst into dust and then he moved towards Illyria. However, she spun around, a large blade popping out the side of the cannon and she sliced through Spike's throat, decapitating him.

"Yes, excellent!" Dr. Sparrow cried, watching through a camera, "Finally!"

Illyria tilted her head to the side, before crying out and holding her stomach in pain, as the room warped and the next thing that happened, Angel, Spike, Kate and Connor were all alive again, all in the same places where they had been killed. Angel frowned, seeing that his son was alive, as Spike took the chance to strike the vulnerable Illyria.

"Kate, get Buffy," Angel cried, "We're getting out of here."

Illyria grabbed Spike and threw him across the living room, as Connor went with Kate to unchain Buffy. She growled at them, forcing Kate to shoot her with the tranquiliser gun, as Angel moved at Illyria, narrowly dodging the blade that sliced through his cheek. He snarled, hitting her in the ribs, as she backhanded him. At that moment, a portal opened up, as Connor came out with the unconscious Buffy. With a nod from his father, he stepped through the portal, as Kate grabbed the bags and followed after him. Spike hit Illyria in the back, narrowly deflecting the hand that held the stake when she whirled around, as Angel then grabbed Illyria by the hair and threw her to the ground. Grabbing hold of Spike, who grabbed his duster, Angel stepped through the portal, just as it closed up behind them. Illyria slowly got to her feet, cracking her neck, before facing the spot where the portal had been. The computers in her body began analysing the scene, before determining where the portal ended.

"I can't believe it!" Dr. Sparrow cried in despair, "We had them dead! And then she had to time-warp! Now they're gone again! Illyria. Hunt them down!"

"Affirmative," Illyria said.

Meanwhile, the portal opened and closed in the Watchers' Council Chambers, where Dawn rushed forth to her sister's side, looking up at the face of the young man who was holding her. Then she looked up at Spike and shrieked, causing Xander, Willow and Giles to all wince in pain at the volume of her voice.

"Spike! You're alive!"

"Well, as alive as a vampire can be," Spike said with a crooked grin, before looking to the rest of the Scoobies, "And where's my hug?"

"Spike, good to see you again," Giles said, "I honestly never expected to see you again. A shame, I wanted to thank you for what you did."

"Get set on fire and turn Sunnydale into a crater? You're welcome, mate."

"I don't think we've ever been introduced," Xander said to Kate, "I'm Alexander Harris, but you can call me Xander or if you don't like me, Harris."

"Uh, Kate Lockley," Kate said, shaking Xander's hand and shooting Angel a look.

"Who are you?" Dawn asked Connor.

"I'm Connor," he replied, "I'm Angel's son."

"Son?" Xander cried, "Seriously? I thought vampires can't have children."

"It's completely impossible," Giles agreed.

"No, he really is Angel's son," Willow confirmed, "So, how'd you find Buffy?"

"Guys, we have a problem and you won't believe it," Angel said, "But Buffy's now a vampire. That's why she's unconscious."

"What, again?" Xander said.

"Unconscious?"

"No, vampire."

"Oh. Huh?"

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	13. Interrogation part 2

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"You know, it'd be nice if everyone stopped locking me up," Buffy complained.

She was currently sitting in an empty cage designed to hold a vampire, while in an observation room above, Giles, Xander, Willow, Spike and Angel were watching her, the latter having some sense of déjà vu, recalling the time when it had been _him_ in the cage and all his friends were watching him with trepidation. He remembered enjoying their fear as he played on their insecurities…all except for Cordelia. She was the only one who wasn't scared of him, no matter how hard he tried. While Wesley had a steely resolve, Angel could still remember sensing his fear in dealing with the most vicious vampire on the planet, but not Cordelia. Never her.

"It's for your safety," Giles spoke over the loudspeaker, "And ours," he muttered.

"Buffy, can you tell us who did this to you?" Xander asked.

"Why are we talking behind walls and windows?" Buffy asked, "Surely you can talk to me face-to-face, right? I promise I won't bite…much."

Giles sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"How are we gonna help her?" Xander asked.

"We could put a soul into her," Willow suggested, "I have the spell somewhere."

"But wouldn't that mean she'd have that perfect happiness clause?" Angel asked.

"And that depends on whether she wants a soul or not," Spike said.

"What, you would rather she continued living as a soulless being?" Xander asked, while Angel quietly said, "I didn't have a choice in the matter."

"If we did that spell, we'd have another Angel," Spike continued, ignoring his grandsire, "Not the brooding part, but the whole 'I'm-miserable-cause-I-can't-get-laid' part. Who wants that?"

"Obviously not you, Spike," Angel growled, "Is that all you can really think about? You're just worried if we do the spell, you can't sleep with her. You really think _you_ could give her perfect happiness?"

"More than you could, you great prancing poof."

Buffy smirked to herself as she listened to her two main loves arguing with each other, "Boys, there's no need to fight over me. Plenty of me to go around. Even enough for Xander and Willow. I'm sure they won't say no."

"Wow, awkward much?" Xander mused.

"This is ridiculous," Giles said exasperated to the vampires, "Arguing isn't going to get us anywhere. Buffy needs our help and-"

"Actually, no I don't," Buffy cut in, "Giles, seriously man, chill. I feel so much better now. I'm much more alive than ever before, which is amusing cause I'm dead. Huh, who would've thought?"

"I'm going in to talk to her," Giles said, "We need to fix this."

Buffy rolled her eyes when she heard that and waited patiently for her Watcher to arrive. Seriously, who were they to think that she needed fixing. All she needed fixed was a nice, warm jugular, preferably human. That pig blood Angel had was disgusting. She couldn't understand how he and Spike drank it. Pathetic.

The door opened and Giles walked in, looking calm and collected as ever, but Buffy could sense his despair and it made her smile as she hung on the bars of the cage, while Giles took a seat before her, folding his hands into his lap.

"So, shall we begin?" he asked.

"Yes, Daddy, let's begin," Buffy smirked.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Connor was bored.

Ever since arriving at the Watchers Council, everyone had been in the observation room, keeping an eye on Buffy and wanting to talk to her, leaving him alone. Kate had wanted to explore London and left earlier that morning with a young Watcher named Andrew, who seemed quite energetic and excitable. Connor wished her fun with him. Now, he was waiting for night to fall so he could head out and find some demon or vampire to slay. He was itching for a fight and it was only morning.

"So, you're Angel's son?"

Connor looked up at the young brunette before him and he had to briefly try and remember her name. Didn't Spike say it was Dawn and that she is Buffy's sister?

"Uh, yeah, I am," Connor replied, "You're…Dawn, right? Buffy's little sister?"

"That's me," Dawn smiled, before taking a seat, "So, why are you here all on your own, doing your best to imitate your father's brooding expression?"

"Just…nothing…I'm just waiting for night to fall."

"You're itching for a fight. I can tell. Both Buffy and Spike used to have that look before they went out to kill something."

"I…uh…um," Connor stuttered, before frowning. Since when was he ever at a loss for words? Was it because of this young woman before him? He wasn't sure and it scared him a little. And when he was scared, he got annoyed, "Why do you care?"

"Because I can help. This place is full of Slayers and a training room. Now, I don't know if you've ever fought a Slayer before-"

"I have," Connor replied.

He remembered when Faith had rocked up in Los Angeles two years earlier to help take down Angelus. A small smile graced his face when he remember her tough, no-holds-barred attitude and he knew he had been impressed with her. He looked up to see Dawn's imploring look and decided to answer her unasked question.

"A Slayer came to Los Angeles a couple of years ago. Her name was Faith and-"

"You've met Faith?" Dawn asked, "How'd that go?"

Connor paused, "Interesting. So, where is this training room? The last time Faith and I fought, she kicked my ass. I wanna see if I can improve."

"Come on, it's this way."

She left the room, as Connor followed her and he couldn't help his eyes as they travelled to her backside, watching as her hips swayed from side to side. They reached the room and Dawn turned around, causing Connor to hurriedly turn his eyes away, hoping he hadn't been caught, but her smirk told him otherwise. Thankfully, she didn't say anything about it, instead, she directed him inside.

"Connor, meet Leah and Satsu. They're two of the best Slayers we've got here in London and they take no prisoners, so have fun!"

"Thanks," Connor said, as something struck him, "Why aren't you with the others, you know, watching over Buffy?"

Dawn's cheery demeanour slipped briefly into one of sadness and Connor inwardly kicked himself. Her sister was now a vampire and she was struggling to deal. He could relate, after all, he had to lose his true memories in order to fully accept his father for who he was. He just hoped the same didn't happen to Dawn.

"I want to see her so bad, but…it's hard…so I'm just trying to deal. If I go and see her, it would make it all the more real."

"But you've been around Angel and Spike," Connor said, "Surely it wouldn't be much different, would it?"

"But they're friends. This is my sister we're talking about. Spike may have been soulless most of the time, but he was always nice to me and I don't remember much of Angelus, but they're not my sister, are they?"

"No, I guess not. So," Connor said, eager to change subjects, "You wanna watch or you got other things to do?"

Dawn shrugged, "Watcher duties can be boring sometimes. Just make sure that this is more interesting than that. You're Angel's son, so you better be good."

"I am good."

"Prove it."

Connor smirked, removing his jacket as he headed out onto the training mat to face the two Slayers, as Dawn took a seat on the bleachers, waiting for the fight to begin.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Buffy, can you please pay attention?" Giles grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

It had been an hour since he began talking to Buffy and he hadn't gotten much out of the newly-sired Slayer, as she seemed more interested in her nails than talking and when she did talk, it was mostly to poke fun at him or her friends.

"Since when did I ever pay attention?" Buffy asked, lying on the floor with her arms behind her head, "Everything you say is boring anyway."

"Can we please focus on the situation at hand. You're a vampire and-"

"Yes and vampires live off blood. Now, I recall asking for blood about an hour ago and I haven't got it. Where is it?"

"Not until you start answering my questions."

Buffy shrugged, "I'm eternal, Rupert. I can wait. You can't."

She looked over at him and flashed him a knowing smirk. Frustrated, Giles motioned to the observation deck, however, sirens suddenly went off. Buffy moved into a cross-legged sitting position, interest on her face, as Giles hurried to the deck.

"What's going on?" Angel asked.

"We're under attack," Giles replied, "Xander, watch her. The rest of you with me."

As Willow, Angel and Spike left the room, Xander went into Buffy's room with a crossbow, while Giles checked the cameras, as they were taken out one by one.

"This isn't good."

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	14. Like Mmm, Cookies

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"What's going on?" Connor asked, pausing in the fight.

"We're under attack," Dawn replied, "Time to put your techniques to use."

For the past hour, he had been sparring with Leah and Satsu, their abilities and skills challenging his own. While the pair weren't as good as Faith, they still kept him on his toes, while Dawn had watched them the entire time, enraptured by the sparring, mainly focused on Connor as he fought.

"We'll check it out," Leah offered, "You should go to the main office, Dawn."

"Ha, yeah right. I'm just as experienced as you guys, if not more."

"Ever grown up in a hell dimension?" Connor asked.

Dawn had no answer to that and he smirked a little, before leaving the room, just as a massive fist slammed into his face. Connor hit the ground, holding his jaw in annoyance, before looking up at the M'Fashnik demon towering over him. Leah and Satsu both leapt into battle, pounding the M'Fashnik demon into the ground, as Dawn helped Connor to his feet. Normally he wouldn't allow anyone to help him up, but for reason, he seemed fine with letting Dawn do it.

"You guys can handle it?" Dawn called.

"Yeah, we can," Leah replied, punching the demon.

Connor felt a need to kill the demon and he rushed in, pushing past the Slayers and hitting the M'Fashnik in the stomach. The demon growled, swinging his fist, but Connor darted around him, slugging him in the face and throwing him into the wall. Grabbing him by his jacket, Connor slammed the demon into the wall again, before wrapping his arms around the demon's head.

"Who sent you?" Connor growled, "How many of you are there?"

"More. Plenty more," the demon growled, "You're gonna be in a world-"

Connor snapped his neck, stepping away from the body, as five vampires in black leather combat outfits stepped around the corner. Connor frowned upon seeing them, knowing that it was late in the morning and the sun was still out.

"Uh, aren't these guys vulnerable to sunlight?" Satsu asked, "Last I checked the sun was still out and the only way in is through the front door."

Dawn hurried into the training room, checking the windows and seeing that it was dark outside, blocking the sun off. Frowning, she turned around as a vampire came into the room with a growl. Dawn froze, calling up the training she had received over the years, as the vampire grinned and charged at her. She waited until the last minute before diving past the vampire, now between him and the exit. She smiled, keeping her eyes on the vampire as she backed away towards the door, but the vampire charged her again. Yelping, Dawn was knocked off her feet and she groaned when she landed on her back, as the vampire stood over her, grabbing by her arms, as her leg swung up between his legs. The vampire gasped, as Dawn then kicked with both feet into his stomach, knocking him back as she got up, feeling her pockets until she found the pencil she had stashed away, holding it like a weapon as the vampire chuckled.

"You really think that's gonna stop me?"

"Let's find out," Dawn replied, her voice calm and strong.

The vampire moved for her, but something hit him first, as Connor struck him again, before ramming the stake into his heart, then turning to Dawn.

"Let's get out of here. We need to get you somewhere safe."

"Oh please, I don't need protecting," Dawn snapped, "You may have grown up in a hell dimension, but I've got a Slayer as a sister, so I'm not completely hopeless."

She had spunk and he liked it. Momentarily taken back, Connor regained his composure with a roll of his eyes and left the room with Dawn trailing behind him. Leah and Satsu had left after dusting the vampires to view the situation and assist the other Slayers, as Connor and Dawn rounded a corner, coming across another small group of vampires, however, there was also a Miquot demon with them. Thankfully, the group hadn't noticed the pair as they started backing away. Just before the pair could fully turn away, a growl stopped them and the group moved towards them.

"When I say run, you run," Connor said, standing in front of Dawn, "And please don't argue with me. You can't take them."

"Oh and you can?" Dawn said, "I'm not running. Got sick of it years ago."

"Alright fine, we'll both run. I don't like it, but we have no choice. And now!"

The pair turned and took off down the hallway they had come, as the vampires and Miquot took off after them.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Spike slammed the vampire against the wall, then drove his elbow into the vampire's ribs, grinning when he heard a bone or two crack. A stake popped out of Spike's sleeve and he rammed it into the vampire's heart, as a M'Fashnik demon grabbed him from behind and slung him to the ground. Spike rolled back onto his feet, wearing his vampire face and lunged at the demon, slugging him in the jaw, as the demon punched him back. Landing a blow in the demon's stomach, Spike was smacked onto his face, as the demon then grabbed him by his duster, sliding him along the floor. Growling, Spike got to his feet and whirled around, narrowly dodging the fist aimed at his face.

"Mind telling me what you doing here?" Spike asked.

"Where's the Slayer?" the M'Fashnik asked.

"Which one? There's at least thirty of them here. Which makes me question your intelligence, bringing a cadre of vampires into a house of Slayers."

"We want Buffy Summers. Tell me where she is and I won't kill you where you stand, vampire. I'll just maim you instead."

Spike chuckled and moved in, dodging the fist and did a leaping punch that staggered the M'Fashnik, allowing him to follow up with a sweep attack that knocked the demon to the ground. Spike fell upon the demon, but he threw his elbow back, knocking Spike away. The M'Fashnik grabbed a nearby stake and straddled Spike, but he smashed his fist straight through the M'Fashnik's chest, tearing his heart out. Spike grinned as he dropped the body aside, before getting up to see the Slayers finishing off the rest of the vampires in the room. A woman in a black leather dress walked into the room and Spike could detect the hint of magic on her, as the woman then vamped out, raising her hands and unleashing a magical shockwave that blasted everyone off their feet. Spike hit the ground with a groan, looking up at the vampire-witch approached him.

"Bloody hell, this is going to be a bitch."

Leaping up with a snarl, Spike found himself suddenly pinned to the wall by tendrils of magic holding him by his wrists, ankles and throat, as the vampire approached him.

"Where is Buffy Summers?" she asked.

"Now what makes you think I'd tell you?" Spike retorted.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Xaaanderrr," Buffy whined.

"Buffy, please be quiet," Xander said, looking towards the door.

"You know, you should let me out. I can help."

"Help kill us off you mean?"

"Oh, Xand-man, don't be like that. You know me. You know I wouldn't do anything like that," Buffy said, "I'm serious, you know. I can help."

"Sorry, Buffy, but you're staying in there," Xander replied, "You're too much of a risk to let out. Who knows, you're probably in league with these guys."

"Now that wasn't very nice. If it's who I think it is, trust me, Xander, I'm not in league with them. Now come on, let me out!"

"No!"

The door burst open and Justine Cooper stepped inside with four vampires standing behind her. She smiled when she saw Buffy in the face, before turning her focus to Xander, as he aimed the crossbow at her.

"You know, little boy, you could shoot me, but you've got these boys to contend with and you won't stand a chance. So why don't you just stand down and you'll live?"

"I'll take my chances," Xander replied, before pulling the trigger.

The bolt slammed into Justine's heart and she gasped as she burst into dust. The other vampires snarled and moved for Xander, as he swung the crossbow like a weapon, striking down one vampire, but a second punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground, as another vampire kicked him in the stomach.

"Xander, let me out now!" Buffy cried.

Gasping, Xander took another kick to the stomach, as he drew the key out of his pocket and tossed it into the cage. Buffy quickly unlocked the door and grabbed the two nearest vampires, hurling them aside, as the other two looked up, one getting punched in the jaw, while the second was kicked in the stomach. Picking up the bolt, Buffy staked a vampire, as the other three lunged for her. Xander watched as she swiftly defeated and staked the trio, before fixing him with a grin.

"Thanks, Xander, you're a pal."

She blew him a kiss and left the room, twirling the bolt around her fingers, as Xander laid on the floor, wondering if he had done the right thing.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Angel slammed a vampire against the wall and staked him through the back, before turning around, as a fist caught him in the face and he was knocked to the ground. Growling, he got back up, stopping when he saw the person in font of him.

"Angus?"

"Hello, Angelus."

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	15. Vampire Witches

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Where is Buffy?" Angus asked, "I know she's here, Angelus. Tell me."

"It's Angel," he gritted out, "And what makes you - argh!"

Angus grinned as he dug his fingers deeper into Angel's wound. Gritting his fangs, Angel grabbed Angus' wrist, but he simply grabbed Angel by the throat, lifting him off the ground and hurling him into a wall. Angel groaned, narrowly dodging Angus' fist as it smashed through the wall, thankful that he had dodged it, knowing that the blow would have crushed his skull.

Pushing away from Angus, Angel swung around with a punch, but Angus caught his fist and grinned, as Angel's other fist slammed into his jaw. After swiftly backhanding the vampire, Angel was shoved back and he narrowly dodged Angus' fist, before swinging his own. Catching his wrist, Angus elbowed Angel in the ribs, before grabbing him by the throat and slamming him against the wall.

"Angelus, I would have thought that after last time, you would have wised up about facing me," Angus grinned, "Or did you forget that I'm far older than you?"

"I think you've forgotten that the name's Angel. Must be old age getting to you."

"Ha, so amusing. Yes, I've heard about your little encounter with gypsies. Pitiful creatures they are and they gave you a soul. Nasty little thing, that is."

"Don't knock it til you try it," Angel growled.

Angus snarled and threw Angel to the ground, as he quickly got to his feet and landed an outer crescent kick on Angus' face. He growled and threw a punch, but Angel dodged, however, the second punch slammed into his ribs and he growled in pain, as a kick to his head threw him to the ground and he was thankful that his head hadn't been literally knocked off his shoulders. Angus reached for him, but Angel grabbed his arm, wrapping his legs around the older vampire's head and pivoting his body, hurling Angus overhead. However, Angus was quicker on his feet and he stomped down onto Angel's back, pinning him to the ground, clutching a piece of sharp wood.

"Now, I think it's time to say goodnight to the great Angelus."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Whoever's attacking the building sure knew what to bring," Giles said.

He narrowly dodged a magical projectile that pierced the wall above his head, as Willow tried her own projectile, but it was absorbed by the magical barrier set up by three vampire witches, while the other vampire witches were firing projectiles. Several Slayers and Giles had set up a makeshift barricade, attacking with crossbows, but the bolts weren't having any affect on the barrier.

"These girls are good," Willow said, diving to avoid a magical energy blast, "It's possible they've had at least a hundred years to practice their skills."

"Yes, a barrier that refuses external penetration, but allows inner penetration; it is one that does take a lot of skill," Giles said, firing his crossbow, "But surely you'll be able to break that barrier down, right?"

"I could, but it'll take a while," Willow said, "Then there's the barrier outside to bring down. That one will take a little longer."

"First, work on this one. We'll get the spells and I'll help you with it. Hold the line!"

The Slayers fired away with their crossbows, as Willow and Giles ducked away from the barricade, heading into another room in order to reach the books, as three commando vampires rounded the corner, snarling when they saw the pair. Just before the trio could attack, Willow muttered a quick spell, raising her hand and unleashing a shockwave that blasted the three vampires off their feet, allowing her and Giles passage through them. The vampires growled and went to follow them, but Willow put up a barrier in the hallway to hold them at bay as they entered the library.

"Okay, it should be here somewhere," Willow said.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Catching a vampire's wrist, Buffy put her arm against his throat and bent him over backwards, before using her elbow to slam him into the ground, then dusted him with the crossbow bolt. Rising up, Buffy staked an incoming vampire, before whirling around the dust with a roundhouse kick that slammed a third vampire against the wall and she staked him through the back. Humming a tune, she skipped along the hallway, just as M'Fashnik and a Miquot demon rounded the corner. She grinned, breaking into a run, even as the Miquot started hurling organic daggers at her. One pierced her shoulder, but Buffy ignored it, lowering her shoulder and slamming straight into the Miquot, bowling him over. The M'Fashnik growled and grabbed her shoulder, but she whirled around with an uppercut, as the Miquot went to get up, only to get kicked in the face. Buffy crossed her arms with a bored sigh and began tapping her foot.

"Come _on_, boys, get up. At least make this fun for me."

"You're the one we're looking for," the Miquot growled, getting to his feet.

"Who isn't looking for me? Seriously, once Giles learns I'm not in the cage, he's gonna freak and then _everyone_ will be looking for me."

The Miquot growled and threw a punch, but Buffy blocked, backhanding him in the jaw, then whirling around to punch the M'Fashnik, then turning back to the Miquot with a kick, but he blocked and swung his fist. Buffy ducked, punching him in the stomach, scuttling back under the M'Fashnik's fist, before leaping onto his back, stabbing the Miquot's dagger into his throat. The M'Fashnik growled, falling to his knees, as Buffy rolled off him, narrowly dodging the Miquot's dagger, as he slashed with his other dagger, but she blocked his arm and struck him in the chest. Leaping up, Buffy pushed off his chest, spinning around and kicking the Miquot in the head, then plunged his own dagger into the top of his skull.

"Buffy?"

Buffy looked to the end of the corridor, a smile coming to her face, "Hey, Dawnie! Who's the boyfriend? Oh you. You were with Angel."

"I'm his son, Connor."

"Nice to know. Hey, Dawn, I'm a little hungry. You don't mind helping your sister out, do you? I promise I won't take much."

She grinned and vamped out, as Dawn whimpered and started backing up. Buffy licked her fangs, heading towards the pair, as Connor moved towards her. The thought of a good fight before a snack excited Buffy and she had a spring in her step as Connor lashed out with his fist. Buffy took the blow and the next one that followed, before parrying Connor's third punch and kneeing him in the stomach.

"Connor!" Dawn cried.

"Ah, don't worry, Dawnie, he'll be fine," Buffy said.

Connor landed a blow to Buffy's jaw, knocking her back, but she caught his arm on his next punch and pulled downwards, flipping him over onto his back. Connor groaned, as Buffy then stomped onto his ribs. She stomped down again and again, satisfied when she heard ribs break, his cry of pain music to her ears and she then kicked him hard in the face, knocking him out, before turning to Dawn. However, Kate suddenly came in from behind Dawn, firing her handgun at Buffy, who simply growled in annoyance as the bullets sank into her body.

"Obviously, you're an idiot. Bullets can't kill me. They just annoy me."

She growled and stormed towards the pair, as the gun clicked and Kate dropped it aside, before drawing out a taser and flicking it on. Buffy rolled her eyes, dodging the first swipe, grabbing Kate's arm and throwing her to the floor. She quickly rolled onto her feet, lashing out with the taser, as Buffy staggered back with a growl. She dodged the next swing and backhanded Kate into the wall, then faced Dawn.

"Don't worry, little sis, it won't be that bad," Buffy grinned.

She then grabbed Dawn by the shoulders and kissed her on the forehead.

"Not just yet."

With a grin, Buffy took off, leaving Dawn behind, as she took a moment to regather her composure, realising just how close she had nearly come to getting killed. She then helped Kate to her feet, before kneeling beside Connor and gently awaking him.

"Ugh, what happened? Where'd she go?"

"She got away," Dawn replied, "Think you can get up?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Connor said, "Just…give me a minute."

He groaned and slowly got to his feet, wincing when he felt the broken ribs jostle.

"I…think I'll be fine."

"We've got to get you to medical," Dawn said, "Both of you. Come on."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"When are these guys going to end?" Spike growled.

He kneed the vampire he was holding in the stomach, dropping him to the ground, then slammed a stake through his back. Rising up, Spike was struck in the chest by a magical projectile that slammed him against the wall and he groaned, looking up at the vampire who had attacked him. She was a young Japanese woman with blue hair tied in a small bun with bangs hanging over her face and she was wearing a short, corseted dress, fingerless gloves, short boots and a small top hat.

"Ah, long time, no see, Kumiko," Spike grinned.

"Hello again, Spike," Kumiko shared his grin, "It's been a while."

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	16. Beam of Sunlight

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"So, it's been what, eighty, ninety years?" Spike asked.

Kumiko rolled her eyes, "1915, Spike, so yeah, it's been quite a while."

"And now you've thrown your lot in with this lot. Whoever this lot is."

"Let's just say it's the most powerful vampire nest this side of the hemisphere."

"Ooh, I'm intrigued, love. Tell me more."

"How about no?"

Kumiko fired a magical projectile, but Spike raced past it, his fist crashing into the side of her head. She staggered back from the blow, managing to stop his kick with her hand, as she slammed her palm against his chest and released a shockwave blast that sent him flying across the room into the opposite wall.

"Maybe I'm interested in joining," Spike suggested, getting to his feet.

"You're only interested in yourself," Kumiko said.

"Oh come on now, love. You know I was interested in you."

"You used me!"

"That doesn't sound anything like me."

"You got drunk, fought my brother and brought damage to my family name."

"That does sound like me," Spike admitted, "Come on now, love, that was eighty years ago. Surely you can't be holding a grudge against me still."

Kumiko growled and raised her hand, as Spike moved in, narrowly avoiding the projectile that shot past his head, as he then swung his fist, catching her on the jaw and throwing her to the ground. She growled, a giant, magical clawed hand bursting up from the ground, grabbing hold of Spike and slamming him against the ceiling. He groaned, as he was then slammed into the ground, the hand guided by Kumiko's own hand and she smirked as she then had him slammed against the wall.

"I want to cause you so much hurt and suffering for what you did to me."

"Honestly, pet, you need a therapist. I actually know of one or two."

His chuckle was cut off when he was slammed against the floorboards once more.

"Okay, that tickles," Spike said, "Alright, enough is enough."

"No, Spike, it's not enough, not even close," Kumiko growled.

She flicked her hand and he went slamming into the ceiling once more.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"So, what's the big plan?" Angel groaned, "There was obviously a reason you turned Buffy. There's a reason you want her back. What is it?"

"As if I'm going to tell you," Angus grinned, "Besides, you'll be dead, so there's no point in telling you."

He brought the stake down, but a bolt suddenly appeared in his forearm and he snarled, whirling around to face Xander, as he calmly reloaded the crossbow, before firing again. However, Angus caught the bolt and snapped it in half with one hand, but he had stepped off Angel and he grabbed the fallen stake, before rising up and swinging. Angus whirled around, blocking Angel's arm, then drove his fist upwards into Angel's jaw, throwing him against the wall. He turned towards Xander and headed for him, but a vampire entered the room and went over to his master.

"Sir! She's not here."

"What do you mean she's not here?" Angus snarled in fury.

"We've checked all over, but we can't find her anywhere."

"Dammit!"

Angel attempted another stake, but Angus whirled around with a backhand that sent the younger vampire sliding along the floor towards Xander.

"Man, we gotta get you out of here," Xander said, kneeling beside Angel, "You're looking pretty beat up."

"We can't leave," Angel said as he was helped to his feet, "We have to stop them."

"How, by having your face slammed into the walls?"

"No matter," Angus said, turning towards Angel and Xander, "I'm sure one of her friends would know where she's gone."

"I've sent a few men into the sewers to find her," the vampire continued, "She couldn't have gone too far."

At that moment, there was a massive shockwave that rocked the entire building and at Angus' motion, the vampire headed to one of the nearby windows, opening the blinds and was instantly set ablaze, as Angus and Angel both moved away from the sudden sunlight pouring in, the beam separating the two vampires from each other.

"I guess this is where we say goodbye," Angus grinned, "Until we meet again, Angelus. And when we do, I promise you a quick death."

With a chuckle, he left the room, as Angel shifted back into his human face, his wounds taking their toll on him and with Xander's support, he headed to the medical ward, where numerous Slayers were being looked over by healing witches and other Slayers. Angel looked around the room, before seeing Connor sitting on a bed with Dawn and Kate standing nearby and he headed over to them.

"Angel, oh my god, you're a mess," Kate said.

"I've had worse," Angel replied, "Good to see you're still alive."

Without really thinking, the pair pulled their arms around each other, comforting each other in the hug, while Connor and Dawn watched on, the former with a look of relief, while the latter was watching in confusion.

"Is there something going on between them?" she whispered to Connor.

"Not sure. There's this whole tension between them though."

"Hey, I heard that," Angel said, pulling away from Kate, "Where's everyone else?"

Connor shrugged, "Probably still fighting."

"No, the barrier was brought down. I think they've gone now."

A thought suddenly came to Angel and he whirled around to Xander.

"How did Buffy get out?"

"I gave her a key," Xander replied, "I was surrounded by vampires and I needed her help. Then she left. I don't know where she could have gone."

"We have to find her. It's not too late. We can still find her."

"Dad, it's sunlight out," Connor said, "And you're in no condition to fight her."

"So, this is where everyone's gotten to?" Spike asked, joining the group, "Good thing Red managed to break the sunlight barrier or we'd all have problems."

He looked over his shoulder as Willow entered the room, checking on the witches, guiding them through their healing spells, before joining the group.

"The vampires are all gone," Willow smiled, "And so are your injuries."

As soon as she said that, all of Angel's, Spike's and Connor's injuries were instantly healed, with even the blood on their bodies vanishing completely.

"So what now?" Dawn asked.

"I think it's to the conference room with Giles," Willow replied.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

The vampire commando cried out as he burst into dust, as Buffy let out a small sigh, looking around at the other piles of dust, before pocketing the stake and continuing on through the sewers. Normally, she hated travelling through sewers, hated the smell, but now she was a vampire, she hated it even more, as her sense of smell had been heightened and made the smell worse. But since it was daylight out, she knew that the sewers were her only way of travel.

"Man, I hate those stinking Slayers," came a male voice, "They make everything harder now. What happened to the days when there was only one Slayer?"

Looking down the tunnel, Buffy saw four vampires walking past without taking any notice of her and she palmed the stake, thinking of how she was going to take them out, but then a new idea came to her and she pocketed the stake, before following them.

"You don't like Slayers, boys?" she asked.

The vampires whirled around, all clearly surprised, except for one who had a confused look on his face. Buffy noticed this and gave him a questioning look.

"You're one of us," he said, "But you smell a little like a Slayer."

"True, I was a Slayer. Now, I'm one of you. If you want to take out the Slayers, well, I'm your best bet at that. So, how about we start building ourselves a little something that the Slayers can start to fear?"

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"I'm curious as to what we're exactly facing," Giles said, "Those vampires were well organised and well equipped. They had demons and witches working for them."

They were all in the conference room, which was slowly being put back together.

"I met the leader," Angel said, "His name is Angus. We've crossed paths before."

"How dangerous is he?" Willow asked.

Angel sighed, "He is well over five hundred years old. He's fanatical. He has resources we can't even dream of. Dangerous? You damn well bet he is. He can almost put Angelus to shame, but he doesn't quite have that flair like Angelus does. Angus prefers to stay hidden, which is why you won't find much about him."

"Well, I think our first priority is finding Buffy," Giles said, "We can't have her loose in the city. When night falls, you and Spike search for her."

"This is Buffy we're talking about," Spike said, "If she doesn't want to be found, odds are you won't find her. Perhaps Red could do a locating spell."

"For some reason, the spell doesn't work for Buffy," Willow explained, "I've tried, but I can never find her. It's like someone is blocking me."

"Oh. Well that presents a problem."

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	17. Finding Buffy

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"How can we expect to find Buffy out here?" Spike asked, "This is London. Millions of scents. No way we'll be able to find her in this."

"You found her in Los Angeles," Angel reminded.

"Guess I was lucky there. I just so happened to be in the neighbourhood. Fat chance of that happening again."

"We could try a demon bar," Connor suggested, but Angel shook his head.

"She would want to stay low. We won't get much out of them."

"Could we at least try? Cross something off the list?"

"Kid's right, Angel. It's the best we could do right now."

Angel sighed, "Alright, we'll give it a try, but this isn't Los Angeles. We don't scare anyone here, so keep that in mind."

Spike smirked, "Unless someone happens to remember you from the old days."

"Who doesn't?" Angel said with a roll of his eyes, "Let's just go."

Navigating through the back alleys of London, the trio soon found themselves inside a demon bar and everyone inside was continuing on as usual. Like Angel said, they weren't known here and so, weren't feared. To the patrons, they were just two vampires and a half-demon here for a drink, not Slayers looking for a fight. Angel headed over to the bar, while Connor and Spike kept an eye out; and he waited patiently for the demonic bartender to reach him.

"What can I get you?"

"Some information if possible," Angel replied, "I was wondering if you've heard of someone called Buffy Summers? Been here about twenty-four hours now."

"Sorry, pal," the bartender replied, "Name doesn't ring a bell. Anything else?"

"I'll have whiskey," Spike interjected.

"Spike! We don't have time for you to get drunk," Angel growled.

"Spike?" a vampire asked, getting to his feet, "As in William the Bloody?"

"Great. Here we go," the elder vampire muttered under his breath.

"Depends who's asking," Spike replied, accepting the whiskey, "Mind if I ask who the bloody hell you are, cause I don't recall you at all, mate."

"That's him," the vampire told his friend, "The one who was here ten years ago mouthing off about being the great William the Bloody who killed two slayers."

"Well, at least one of us is remembered," Spike smirked at Angel.

"Uh, thanks, we'll get going now," Angel told the bartender.

The trio headed for the exit, but found a large, imposing demon standing before them, sided by four vampires, as Angel sighed and turned to Spike.

"You know this is jut going to delay us a little."

"Relax, Angel. Look at this as a bit of fun. Gotta unwind every now and again."

"Spike," the demon growled, "I thought you were told not to return."

"Sorry, but that was ten years ago and I somewhat forgot."

"And Angelus, haven't heard anything of you for over a hundred years. Finally decided to come crawling out of your little dirt hole?"

"Okay, look, we were just leaving-" Angel started before he was smacked aside.

"Game on," Spike grinned, turning back to the demon.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Kennedy led the three other Slayers into the demon pub, instantly causing most of the patrons to shy away from the girls as they made their way to the bar. A demon growled threateningly, but Kennedy's fist shot up into his face, while she kept walking like nothing had happened.

"Alright, listen up maggots," Kennedy called, "I want any information on Buffy Summers or a vampire named Angus if you have it. If you do have it and you don't tell me, I will happily beat it out of you. Actually, I hope you don't tell me."

"Buffy Summers?" a vampire said, "Yeah, I've heard of her. Heard something that she was putting a gang of vamps together. Wants to take down the Slayers."

"Where did you hear this?" Kennedy asked, "Do you know where to find her?"

The vampire shook his head, "Can only tell you what I heard, Slayer."

"Well, where did you hear this?"

"Apparently, there's a recruitment call at a place called 'The Dancing Demon'. I don't know where it is, but you could try there."

"Okay, so can anyone here tell me where the Dancing Demon is?"

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Forty minutes later, Kennedy, Willow, Xander and four other Slayers were entering the Dancing Demon, noticing that they were virtually the only humans in the large club. Exotic female demons were dancing on poles before groups of male vampires and demons, as Willow and the others slowly made their way through the crowd.

"So, where do we go from here?" Xander asked.

"We try the bar," Willow replied, "See if that recruitment is still happening."

"Man, I just can't get over the idea of Buffy forming a gang of vampires."

"I guess it was bound to happen now she's a vampire," Kennedy interjected.

"Well, Slayers are bound to kill vampires, but just hold back on this one," Xander said, "We want to help Buffy, not kill her."

"I had no plans on doing that at all."

"It's okay, sweetheart, that's just Xander being Xander," Willow said, before turning to her best friend, "You did call Angel right?"

Xander shrugged, "I did, but got no reply. I'll try again later."

Willow nodded her agreement, reaching the bar and waiting for one of the bartender to finally reach her, this one a green-skinned female demon with numerous facial piercing, stringy black hair and the look of a bad attitude.

"What can I do for you, darlin'?" the demon asked.

"We were wondering about a recruitment call by Buffy Summers," Willow replied.

The demon snorted, "The vampire with the powers of a Slayer? Yeah, she's out back, testing the new recruits. Dunno if she'll accept you cause you're human, but-"

"Thanks!" Willow cried, "I'm gonna go out there…and get myself turned…so I can join Buffy's gang. Thanks so much."

"Yeah, whatever," the demon said dismissively, heading to the next patron.

Willow motioned to the others and headed towards the back of the club, seeing a curtained doorway guarded by two vampires, one of who approached Willow.

"What do you think you're doing, human?" he growled.

"We want to join Buffy's gang," Xander cut in, "We're so bored with our human lives and we hear she's going to be the biggest thing since the Beatles, so we figure, why not? Let's have the time of our lives, even if we gotta die for it."

The vampire looked back at his companion and with a shrug, held the curtain open, allowing the small group entrance onto the descending stairs, winding down into the stone, cold room where a circle of vampires were cheering on two vampires caught up in a blood brawl to the death with each other. One of the vampires picked up a fallen stake, but the other vampire caught his wrist, before reversing the stake and killing his opponent, as the circle of the vampires cheered his success.

"This looks a little bad," Willow grimaced, "But we can do this."

"Where's Buffy?" Xander asked, "I don't see her anywh-"

He suddenly went flying, as Willow was sent sliding on her back into the pack of vampires. They grabbed for her, but a quick incantation and shockwave blast later, they were lying scattered around the room, as Willow got to her feet, seeing Buffy with one arm wrapped around Kennedy's neck, the other hand holding the Slayer's arm up behind her back, while the other four Slayers were currently down and out.

"Will, nice to see you again," Buffy grinned, "Like what I'm doing here?"

"Let her go," Willow said.

"Sure!"

Buffy shoved Kennedy forward, then slammed her fist into the back of the Slayer's head, knocking her to the ground. Kennedy groaned, as Buffy then kicked her in the face, knocking her unconscious, before turning to Willow with a grin.

"Now, let's have ourselves a nice little girl chat."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"We need to do something about Angelus and his little band of friends," Angus said.

He was currently holed up in a small safe house in London, one of the few safe houses that he had set up across the globe, not that they were really needed, but they helped.

"What if we were to bring Angelus over to our side?" Kumiko suggested, "I know he has a soul now, but it wouldn't really be hard to remove it."

"Angelus wouldn't join my side," Angus said, "But he's more likely to do it than Angel, especially if he were to lose his soul. He could join in gratitude."

"If you ask, sir, I can start preparations for the soul extraction," Kumiko said.

"Well, I know I can handle Angelus if the need arises. And it would be another one of their chess pieces down," Angus reasoned, "Alright, Kumiko, prepare the spell."

She smiled, performing a small curtsey, before leaving the room.

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	18. A Game of Catch

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Okay, let's not do that again," Angel said as they left the pub, "Now we've wasted time with the fight and-"

"Yeah, but it was fun," Spike said, "You need to have fun every now and again."

"That's why I have you around, isn't it?"

"Yes!"

Angel rolled his eyes and dug his phone out of his pocket, seeing that he had a missed call from Xander. With some struggle and a little help from Connor, Angel was able to access the voicemail, hoping that Xander and Willow had found something.

"Angel, we've got word that Buffy is at a place called the Dancing Demon. We're going there now, but we could use your help. Thanks."

"Buffy's at the Dancing Demon," Angel said after hanging up.

"The Dancing Demon, huh?" Spike said, "I know the place. Let's go."

"I'll call Kate and get her to meet us there."

Connor hailed a cab, as Angel called Kate, telling her the address of the Dancing Demon, before getting into the cab with Connor and Spike, telling the driver where to go in order to reach the Dancing Demon.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Willow hit the floor hard, a trickle of blood running from her hairline, as her eyes turned completely black and she held out her hand, but Buffy smacked her hand aside, before grabbing her by the throat and lifting her off the ground, as the vampires surrounded Buffy with a growl, staring hungrily at Willow.

"Were you really going to perform a spell on me, Will? That's not nice."

"Buffy, you need to stop," Willow choked.

"But I haven't even got started yet."

With a flick of her hand, Buffy hurled Willow into the wall.

"I know you're planning to kill all the Slayers-" the witch started.

"Yes, that is the plan, but not the only one. Slayers aren't my only goal. I could tell you more, but you're not on my side. Maybe I should bring you over to my side."

Vamping out, Buffy moved for Willow, but she slapped her hand against the floor and a spear of magic suddenly impaled Buffy through the thigh, holding her in place. Buffy cried out with a growl, as the other vampires moved for Willow, but the scream of a vampire turning to dust brought their attention to the exit.

"Care to fight?" Angel asked.

The vampires snarled, rushing to their new targets, as Angel slugged a vampire in the jaw, ducking under a second vampire's fist and knocking him aside, then staking a third vampire. The two new Slayers who had arrived with Kate were waking up their sisters, before joining in the fight, as a vampire took hold of Buffy, easing her off the spear, as Xander joined Willow's side.

"Nice move, Will," Buffy growled, "Now, I'm going to kill you."

"Buffy, don't, please, think about this," Xander said, "We're your friends."

"_Were_ my friends. Not anymore."

She backhanded Xander, knocking him to the ground, as Willow raised her hands, chanting a spell, but Buffy grabbed the vampire who had helped her, placing him in the path of the spell and he was imprisoned in a cube of magic. Buffy grinned, before noticing that her new vampire gang was getting killed and she raced for the exit.

"Spike!" Angel called, "Get her!"

He punched another vampire, as Spike charged up the stairs after Buffy, tackling her just as they reached the club and the two vampire guards instantly grabbed Spike by the arms, pulling him away from Buffy, but he broke out of their grips, before punching them both, as Buffy struck him across the jaw.

"Slayers!" Buffy shouted to the patrons, "Slayers are here to kill you!"

Spike punched Buffy, as she backhanded him, while the demons and vampires were getting up from their seats to greet the return of Angel, Kate, Connor, Willow, Xander, Kennedy and the rest of the Slayers.

"Oh crap," Kate groaned.

Buffy grinned and waved as she disappeared amongst the sea of demons. Spike tried to keep track of her movements, but the demons were rushing forth to fight him and he tried his best to duck around the fighting, knowing the others could handle it, but something strong punched him in the nose, causing it to bleed.

"Bloody hell!" Spike cried, "Do you mind?"

"No," the large demon grunted with a grin.

With a roll of his eyes, Spike dodged the demon's next swing, kicking him in the side of the knee, snapping it inwards. The demon cried out, falling over, as Spike then snapped his neck, with some difficulty, before spying Buffy by the front doors of the club. She saw him and blew him a kiss, before disappearing through the doors, as Spike quickly followed after her, bursting out onto the streets and unable to see her anywhere. He tried to inhale her scent, but it was too mixed in with the smells of London and civilians, making it near impossible to isolate and locate her. Picking a random direction, Spike hit upon a stronger trail of Buffy's scent and hurried after it, just in time to see Buffy dragging a terrified young woman into an alley. Putting on a burst of speed, Spike broke into the alley, seeing a pair of struggling feet disappearing over the rooftop and he was quickly climbing up the fire escape, reaching the rooftop to see Buffy standing near the edge, holding the terrified woman by the throat.

"Hey, Spike! Up for a game of catch?" Buffy smirked.

"Let her go, pet," Spike said, "This poor lass has nothing to do with us. Let her go and we can talk, either with words or fists, I don't care, just let her go."

"Hmm, really poor choice of words."

Buffy let go of the woman's throat and she screamed, falling towards the edge, but then Buffy grabbed her by the arm, effortlessly holding her from falling to the road below, as the woman struggled to regain her footing on the rooftop.

"Goddamnit woman, let her go safely," Spike growled, "There's no need to bring innocents into this. This is between you and me."

"True, but innocents always get caught in the crossfire," Buffy said, "You know that, I know that. Besides, it adds a little excitement to the whole thing."

"Buffy, we just want to help you."

"You don't get it, Willy. I don't need help. For the first time ever, I'm free. You know exactly what I'm talking about. Nothing's holding me back now."

"Buffy, I don't want to see you go down this road. I love you."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously, "Have a good trip, Spike."

She let the woman go and stepped aside, as Spike threw aside all rationality and dived off the rooftop after the woman. He grabbed her leg and yanked her close to him, before twisting his body so that he was on the bottom when they slammed into the pavement, sending people fleeing in shock and horror, just as Angel arrived.

"What happened, Spike?"

"You're safe now," Spike told the woman, "Run home and stay there."

"How did you…that was a five storey…oh my god…"

"Go home."

The woman nodded, pulling herself away from Spike and rushing off towards home, as Spike groaned, accepting Angel's hand and getting pulled up onto his feet.

"What happened, Spike?" Angel asked again.

"Buffy took a hostage and dropped her off the roof," Spike answered, "Naturally, being the hero I am and not worrying about my safety, dived off after her."

"Well, she would have gotten away by now. We'll have no hope of catching her tonight. Willow wants to call it a night."

"Well, you sods can cry all the way home, but I'm gonna find her."

"Spike, don't be a fool," Angel growled, "She's stronger and faster than you. You won't last long in a fight against her."

"And what's your plan on capturing her, Angel? Sit still and hope she comes to you?"

"Of course not. But we need to plan our next movement before she does."

"We know how well that's gonna go," Spike said, "Alright fine, we'll go with your idea then. Back to Slayer Central we go."

Angel nodded and joined up with the others, taking a cab ride back to the Watchers' Council, where the repairs were still being carried out. Willow led the group to Giles' office to report on their failure, all stopping short briefly at the person sitting on Giles' desk, talking to the Head Watcher.

"Hey, kids," Faith grinned, "Guess who's joined the party!"

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Down by the Thames River, a portal opened up, depositing six men in combat gear and wielding rifles, as a seventh person stepped through the portal, which closed up behind her and she looked around at the night sky, inhaling the scents of the city and feeling the repulsion swim through her like a thick, muddy river.

"We are here," Illyria said, "Hunt them down and show no mercy."

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	19. Can I Have a Chainsaw?

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Faith? What are you doing here?" Angel asked.

"G-man here called me up and told me what was going on," Faith answered, "I got the next flight out to London, figured you could use my help."

"Did you have any luck?" Giles asked.

"She was recruiting vampires to form a gang to take us down," Willow answered, "I just…can't believe it's still her."

"It's not her, Will," Xander said, "It has her body, it has her memories, but it's not her. The Buffy we know is gone. She's dead. All there's left is an empty, evil shell."

"We can fix that," Angel said, "All we need is the Rite of Restoration. We'll put a soul in her."

"Against her will?" Spike challenged, "Ever since she was turned, she's been killing. Both you and I, well, mainly you, know what a soul does to a killer like us and her."

"It's Buffy. She can handle it. She's faced down bigger problems before and she always came through in the end."

"And yet, look at you. You're a shining example of what happens when a soul is shoved into a vampire. You mope, you brood, you kill something evil, you mope some more. It's a whole boring cycle and-"

"Unlike you, who just carries on with life as if nothing in his past bothers him?"

"Okay, boys, stop with the testosterone," Faith warned, "Let's just do this one step at a time, alright? First, we find Buffy, then we capture her, then - Connor?"

"Uh, hi, Faith," Connor said, waving nervously.

He had been in the medical ward, getting patched up for a few injuries by Dawn, even though he insisted that he didn't patching up, as the injuries weren't major and would therefore heal within a few hours, but Dawn was very persistent and he found himself agreeing to her demands. Now, he had finally made his way to the conference room, surprised and a little worried to see Faith there. After all, she had kicked his ass without even breaking a sweat and that made him nervous. Even his father had trouble during their fights and Angel had over two hundred years of martial arts expertise.

"So, you're not here to try and kill your father again?" Faith asked.

"Faith-" Angel started.

"No, I'm not," Connor replied, "I'm not like that anymore. I've changed."

"Join the club then, kiddo. Just…don't slip into old habits."

"Like you?" came a new voice.

Faith turned around, sharing the eye rolling with Angel, who followed up with a sigh, as Kate entered the room, having changed out of her combat outfit.

"Great, instead of finding Buffy, we're gonna go with accusing others of our pasts."

"Can I join in then?" Spike asked.

"No, but you can get lost," Angel retorted, before moving towards Kate, "Kate, look, we've all done bad things in our past and we've all changed. Forgive and…well, I wanna say forget, but you know what I mean."

Kate slowly nodded, listening to Angel's words like keeping her eyes on Faith, who was looking around the room without interest.

"Maybe we should all calm down," Giles intervened, "We've all had a rough night and we should rest. We'll pick up tomorrow."

Everyone voiced their agreement and slowly shuffled out of the conference room, as Giles sighed, moving to his desk and pulling out a bottle of scotch and a glass.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Buffy let out a satisfied sigh, sucking blood off her fingers as she walked away from the bodies of a couple she and her small gang had killed, while her vampires were still feeding on the bodies, reminding Buffy of the animals they truly were. But she needed them to serve her purpose, well, both purposes. She was giving in to both her instincts: to destroy the Slayers, like her vampire instincts were telling her and to destroy Angus and his organisation, like her Slayer instincts were telling her. But she wasn't quite sure which one to listen to, which one she should give in to first. However, she figured it didn't really matter whatever she did first, as she was going to carry out both tasks, regardless of what was more important.

"Are you done, boys?" Buffy called back to the vampires, "We've got things to do."

"Sorry, boss," said a vampire named…was it Arnold? Or Archie? "What's the plan?" he asked, wiping the blood from his human mouth.

"That could be the start of a plan."

Four vampires in combat outfits were heading towards them. Buffy smirked, drawing a stake out of her skirt and twirling it around, as her vampires stood behind her, ready to fight for her. She found that…exciting and powerful. Now she had people who were willing to die for her and she could send them to their deaths without a care.

Buffy liked that idea.

"Angus still on the lookout for me?" Buffy asked.

"Angus requests your presence," a vampire growled, "And he won't accept 'no'."

"Would he accept me killing you? Boys!"

Her vampires snarled and leapt into combat with Angus' vampires, while she hung back and watch for a while, seeing that her vampires weren't as combat experienced as Angus' vampires and she joined in the fight, killing three of the commandoes, before delivering a king hit to the fourth and knocking him out cold.

"Shouldn't we be killing him?" Archie (Yes, it was Archie) asked.

"No. He has information I want," Buffy answered, "Take him away."

Archie picked the commando up, leaving with the other vampires, as Buffy scanned the alley, before disappearing into the night with the others.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

The commando groaned and slowly opened his eyes, seeing that he was in a dimly lit room (though he could still see quite clearly) and that he was heavily chained to an uncomfortable chair. But he wasn't the only one in the room, as Buffy was standing in the corner nearby, while two of her vampires were guarding a door.

"Great, you're awake," Buffy smirked, "I didn't want you to miss out all the fun."

"If you're planning on torturing me, best of luck," the vampire growled, "You won't get anything out of me."

"Is that the whole 'I'm afraid of him more than you' thing? What's your name?"

"Uh, Rick."

"Rick. Great. I'd introduce myself, but we all know who I am. At least I can introduce you to these boys here. That one's Archie and the other is Donald."

"Fascinating," Rick said in a bored tone, "Can we get on with it?"

"Sure," Buffy said, pushing off the wall, "First things first. Why did Angus sire me?"

"With you chained up all helpless, he couldn't resist. Besides, I think it's mostly bragging rights. How often can you say you sired a Slayer?"

Buffy smiled as she stood directly in front of Rick, allowing him to gaze up and down her body, checking out her revealing clothing, as she then slugged him in the face.

"Something tells me you're lying, Rick. There's more to it than bragging rights. Otherwise, Angus wouldn't be trying so hard to reclaim me, right?"

Rick glared at her, setting his face in a tight frown, so Buffy punched him in the face and he spat blood, still glaring at her. Rolling her eyes, Buffy then placed her stilettoed heel on his crotch and began pushing down hard.

"Better start telling me something decent, Ricky. Won't be able to attract the vampire whores if you're missing a little something. Imagine that for eternity."

"What makes you think I'm high up in the chain?" Rick growled, gritting his teeth against the agonising pain, "I just work for Angus. I don't lunch with him."

"Donnie, grab me the chainsaw, please?" Buffy asked, fluttering her eyelashes.

The vampire nodded and left the room, returning a minute later with the chainsaw, before starting it up and handing it to Buffy, as she grinned to a fearful Rick.

"Any last words, Ricky?"

She pulled the trigger, revving the chainsaw into high gear, before slicing downwards onto Rick's leg. He screamed in pain, blood spraying the floor and Buffy, the teeth slashing through the flesh, tearing it to shreds, as Buffy then hit bone and pressed harder. The femur snapped and Buffy continued the cut, his screams music to her ears, as she then stepped back with a satisfied sigh, turning the chainsaw off, before holding up Rick's severed leg. He was still moaning, blood pumping from the stump, as Buffy then struck him across the face with his own leg, knocking him to the floor. Dropping the leg aside, Buffy pressed her foot to his face, threatening pressure on his cheek.

"Good thing about being immortal, we can keep doing this forever. Or at least until I run out of things to cut off you. But you get the hint, right, Ricky?"

"Alright, alright," Rick whimpered, "I don't know much about why Angus sired you or why he wants you so bad, but I do know something that he's looking for."

Buffy pressed harder and grinned when she heard bone crack, "Continue."

"Eye of Ramras. I heard Angus talking about something called the Eye of Ramras."

Buffy removed her foot from Rick's face, pondering this new piece of information. She had never heard of the Eye of Ramras and she knew she needed to find out just what exactly it was, but it wasn't like she had the books to read through to tell her. However, she knew just the place to go.

"Thank you so much, Ricky, you've been very helpful."

Drawing the stake from her skirt, Buffy then stabbed it into Rick's heart.

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	20. Illyria's Final Dance

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Giles was about to retire to bed, crossbow in hand, when he passed the library and heard a noise coming from within. It sounded like someone had fallen over and as he listened closely, he heard a muttered 'damn'. With it sounding familiar, Giles raised his crossbow and entered the dark library, flicking the lights on and checking down each aisle. Having found nothing by the time he reached the last aisle, Giles decided he was just imagining things due to the scotch, when he turned around and was slammed in the chest, sliding along the floor, the crossbow falling from his hands. He groaned, as he was then lifted off the ground with ease and slammed against a shelf.

"Hi, Daddy!" Buffy grinned.

"Buffy, what are you doing here?" Giles asked, keeping his voice steady and calm.

"Your heartbeat is a little faster than normal, Giles. You wouldn't be scared of me?"

"I'm saddened by what you've become, by what's been done to you."

"Don't lose sleep over it. I'm better off because of it. Now, let's talk shop. I'm looking for a book and with you being a librarian, maybe you could help me."

"Really? That's interesting. I seem to recall you not wanting any of our help."

Buffy snarled and lifted Giles higher against the shelf, holding him with one hand.

"Don't toy with me, _Rupert_. I can easily snap your neck-"

"I don't doubt you will. After all, you've lost all shreds of your humanity-"

Buffy hurled him into the opposite shelf, toppling it over, the books falling atop Giles, as he was picked up from the pile and thrown along the floor.

"I want a book, Giles. I don't know which one, but one that will help me."

"Interesting. And what are you hoping to find in this book?"

"The Eye of Ramras. I wanna know what it is and what it does."

"Unfortunately, I can't tell you what I know about it, because I've never heard of-"

With a snarl, Buffy grabbed Giles and lifted him off the ground by his throat.

"I didn't want to hear that, Giles. Do you have a book that can help?"

"You can try _Relics of the Ancient and Modern World_," Giles choked.

Buffy dropped her former Watcher to the ground and he took a moment to suck in air, before slowly getting up and headed into one of the aisles, before pulling out a very thick, old book that he handed to Buffy. She opened the book to the index, before scanning through the list until she found what she was looking for.

"Thank you, Giles. You've been a big help."

"Tell me, why the sudden interest in this relic?" Giles asked.

"A little birdy told me Angus was after it. But that's all you need to know."

Closing the book, Buffy then swung it hard, connecting with Giles' skull and knocking him out cold. With a smile, Buffy headed for the window and dived out, disappearing off into the night once more.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Kate yawned as she walked into the kitchen of the their hotel room, which had been paid for by the Council; and began making herself a cup of coffee. However, just as she started to boil the jug, she felt the cold steel of a gun barrel pressing up against the back of her neck and she froze.

"Don't do anything stupid," hissed a male voice, "Now, turn around slowly."

Her hands in the air, Kate slowly turned around to face a man dressed completely in black combat gear, holding a rifle at her, while another similarly dressed man was nearby, watching her and she could hear noises coming from the living room, which quickly erupted into gunfire. The commando before Kate motioned to his comrade, who left the kitchen and when he turned back to Kate, she brought her hands down onto the rifle, smacking it away as bullets blasted through the kitchen counter. Swinging her fist, Kate caught the commando on the jaw, but it barely fazed him and he dropped the rifle aside, swinging his own fist. Barely dodging in time, Kate placed her hands on the back of his neck, pushing down while bringing her knee up into his stomach. However, he blocked the move and shoved her against the counter, before drawing a handgun from his thigh holster. Just as he aimed it at Kate, something strong and fast hit him from the side, knocking his shot off target and he was slammed face first onto the tattered bench, as Angel then threw him to the ground. The commando fired off a shot, but Angel ignored the hit to the shoulder, pouncing on the commando once more and snapping his neck, before looking up at Kate and both realised the state of dress, or undress, they were in. Kate was wearing only a light blue small nightie and a short gown, while Angel was wearing only a pair of black satin boxers. Embarrassed, he quickly moved into the living room, where the rest of the commandoes had been taken care off by Connor and Spike.

"Wolfram and Hart," Spike announced, "These boys found us."

"How?" Connor asked, "These tattooes are supposed to prevent us from being found."

"Your guess is as good as mine," Angel said, "We can't stay long though-"

Suddenly, he was lifted off the ground by his throat and hurled into the wall, as Illyria whirled around, firing off her cannon and narrowly missing Spike, as Connor moved for her, only to receive a kick to the face, knocking him to the ground.

"How awkward," Spike muttered, "Fighting Blue Thunder in our underwear."

He lifted himself off the ground, rushing towards Illyria and striking her in the back of the head when she reached for Angel. Pausing, Illyria whirled around, a blade popping out of the cannon and she slashed Spike across the chest, before punching him, as Angel grabbed Illyria from behind. Part of the ceiling came crashing down from the wayward energy blast, as Illyria smacked Angel aside, before levelling the cannon towards him. Connor knocked her shot aside, but she then palmed him in the chest, slamming him against the wall, as Angel tried again, this time, grabbing her right arm and twisting hard. Illyria cried out, as Angel tore the cannon from her arm, but she simply punched him across the room.

"Illyria!" Spike cried, "Stop this! You're amongst friends!"

"I…I…"

Gunshots rang out, piercing Illyria's back, but she turned towards Kate and the next thing she knew, she was being held off the ground by her throat, her air slowly being cut off, until Angel punched Illyria in the back a few times, making her let Kate go.

"Illyria, come on, please listen," Spike said, "I know you're in there somewhere. Wolfram and bloody Hart have done something to you."

Illyria backhanded Angel along the floor and shoved Connor by his face, before heading towards Spike, but he raised his hands in surrender, holding his position even as Illyria drew her fist back, prepared to drive it through his skull.

"You're dead, Blue. You're not supposed to be alive."

"I…died?"

"You gave up your life. Wolfram and Hart has done something to you."

"They…I was…nearly dead…they took me…tortured me."

She stepped back from Spike, lowering her fist and staring at her trembling hands.

"They've taken everything from you," Spike said, stepping slowly towards her, "They won't even let you rest in peace. They've stolen your glory, your pride and your death. Everything that you were is gone."

"I am not whole," Illyria said, "Not anymore. I wasn't allowed to pass on. They wanted me as a weapon. A tool for their uses."

"And they must be punished," Spike said, "You must take back what's yours."

"Yes, I must," Illyria agreed, looking up at Spike, "But I can no longer exist. I have no place here, not anymore. My time is…overdue."

Connor was standing warily nearby, while Angel stood protectively in front of Kate, as Spike slowly reached out and took hold of Illyria's shoulders.

"Illyria. I'm sorry, pet."

"I will restore what's right," Illyria announced, "You will always be my greatest pet."

Pushing away from Spike, she opened a portal and just before she stepped through it, she looked back at Spike, the pair sharing a look together and then she was gone. The portal closed up behind her and Spike took to staring at the floor, a tinge of sadness coming over him, knowing that it was the last time he would ever see Illyria again.

Meanwhile, Illyria reappeared in the Wolfram and Hart safe house, as Dr. Sparrow jumped in shock. He had witnessed the conversation and he had a feeling his time was at an end. It was confirmed when he saw the furious look on Illyria's face, as she waved her hands, a large blue energy bubble filling the entire room, trapping everyone inside. Dr. Sparrow looked around nervously, as people tried to escape the bubble, but to no avail and he looked back at Illyria in a panic.

"Illyria, please-"

"Please, nothing," Illyria snarled, "You used me. You took everything away from me. You even disrupted my death and prevented me from moving on. Now, you die."

Clenching her fist, she smiled as she sped up time and everyone started gagging, their life stolen from their bodies, which all began decaying, until they were nothing more than skeletons, as they turned to dust. Dr. Sparrow was the last one to die and as he slowly vanished into nothing, he saw Illyria's body breaking down, clothing, skin and hair falling from her body, as a bright blue glow appeared in her chest. With a smile, Illyria destroyed Dr. Sparrow's skeleton, as her own body was destroyed in her own personal time warp, one that reversed time, and her life energy was released into a small explosion that destroyed the safe house, killing anyone else who hadn't been caught in the time warp. When the dust cleared, all that remained was nothing more than a crisp human skull, which had a blue glow in the eye sockets until it faded away.

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	21. The Eye of Ramras

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Giles, you look terrible," Willow commented, "Did you get any sleep last night?"

"No, not really, I guess," Giles replied, "Buffy paid a visit last night."

"That would explain that pretty little bruise on your head," Xander said, "But hey, you're still alive, so that's good. What did she want?"

"She was after a book. She's chasing something called the Eye of Ramras."

"Eye of Ramras?" Willow asked, "I think I've seen something about that."

She moved to the shelves, perusing the books, until she found the one she was looking for and pulled it out onto the table, opening it to the page she wanted.

"Ah-ha, the Eye of Ramras," she said, holding the book up, "It's an orb that amplifies power. For example, if Buffy got hold of it, she'd be far stronger than before."

"Yes, but she said that Angus was after it," Giles said, "What do we have on him?"

"Uh, he turned Buffy and he can beat the crap out of Angel," Xander replied, "I tried asking Angel about him, but he wouldn't say much, which is normal."

"He has power like you couldn't imagine," Angel said suddenly from Xander's left.

"Geez! When - how did - where did you come from?" Xander cried.

"Through the door," Angel replied with a hint of a self-satisfied smirk, "I've come by to help you guys and I guess we'll start with Angus."

"You two have met before, correct?" Giles asked, taking a seat.

"Unfortunately, we met in 1782 while Darla and I were in France," Angel began, pacing near the table while avoiding the beams of sunlight streaming in.

Willow took note and with a wave of her hand, shut the blinds on the windows.

"Back then, he was just starting to build his operation and he came to us, seeking to recruit us for his cause. Said something about an Old One. Naturally, Darla and I weren't interested and we both declined. Angus didn't like that."

"What exactly did he mean by 'Old One'?" Giles asked, "Did he say which one?"

Angel shrugged, "We didn't exactly give him a chance to explain. I told him to get lost and the next thing I knew, I was waking up as the sun was rising."

"He does sound like a charming character," Xander said, "And how often can someone say they managed to beat Angelus unconscious?"

Angel shot Xander a glare, before catching sight of the picture of the Eye of Ramras and he picked the book up for a closer look. The Eye looked familiar to him for some reason, before realising where he had seen it. About a month or so after the fight with the Senior Partners' army, Angel and Connor had taken on a case where they fought against a demon trying to take over a bad neighbourhood and terrorising the residents. The demon had surrendered during the fight and Angel allowed him to go under the condition that he didn't cause any more trouble and he remembered seeing a gold orb resting on the bookcase in the demon's lair.

"I think I know where to find this," Angel said, "I think I saw something similar on a case I did in Los Angeles."

"Are you sure?" Giles asked, looking at the picture once more.

"Mostly positive. The least I can do is go and make sure if I'm right or wrong."

"If it is indeed the Eye of Ramras, at least we'll have an advantage," Giles said, "Willow, think you can open a portal back to Los Angeles?"

"Sure thing," Willow replied, "You'll be fine on your own, Angel?"

"Yeah. I know the demon and he's a pushover," Angel replied.

Willow nodded and moved from the table, leading Angel to an open space, before chanting a spell, as a portal opened up before them. Angel stepped through, coming out onto a Los Angeles street. The stars and moon were out and Angel knew he had only a few hours before the sun rose, but it was more than enough for him. Crossing to the middle of the street, Angel dropped down into the sewers, then began heading in the direction of the demon's lair. Thankfully, he didn't come across anything that would slow him down and after nearly two hours of walking, he came to the door he was looking for. After hearing that someone was inside, Angel kicked the door off its hinges, hiding the smile from seeing the demon jump in shock. Looking like a skeleton surrounded in a blue goo and with glowing red eyes, Kr'ph began backing away from Angel as he advanced into the slum-like lair.

"Kr'ph, why are you backing away?" Angel asked, "I thought we were friends."

"No, we just parted on mutually beneficial grounds," Kr'ph said, "Though, admittedly, it was more beneficial on your behalf."

"Where is it, Kr'ph? Where's the Eye?"

"Eye? What eye? That soul starting to drive you crazy?"

Before Kr'ph could do anything else, he was held off the ground by his throat, all in the blink of an eye. Damn vampires and their super speed.

"Now, I know you don't breathe, so this is just mostly an intimidation thing," Angel said, "Which leads into bones being broken if you don't start talking. Eye of Ramras."

"Oh, that thing," Kr'ph said, "Well, why didn't you say so? On the bookshelf."

"Thank you."

Dropping him to the ground, Angel headed towards the bookcase, where he was able to see the Eye, sitting there like a paperweight. However, just as he neared the bookcase, the air before him began solidifying, freezing into a wall of ice and he whirled around, seeing Kr'ph encased in a block of ice and a demonic Eddie Hope was standing nearby with a grin on his face.

"Angelus, I've been waiting for you," Eddie said.

"Oh crap," Angel said.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Spike was at the bar, drinking to try and forget his thoughts. Just hours earlier, he had watched as Illyria left his life as quickly as she had come back in, knowing that he was never going to see her again. Add that in with the whole 'Buffy-is-a-vampire' and Spike was finding that he was becoming very good friends with the whiskey, desperate to drown his sorrows. He was starting to feel like Angel, having lost two people important to him and he had been unable to save them.

Feel like Angel?

Spike did a small, hollow laugh as he downed the next shot of whiskey. Clearly, he had been hanging around Peaches for _way_ too long and the last thing he wanted was to end up like his grandsire, moping about every single person he failed to save…and yet, he was doing exactly that, moping about Illyria and Buffy.

_"Stupid ponce. Affecting me like this. However…"_

Call him crazy, but he had just thought of a way on how he could help Buffy. Perhaps it wasn't too late for her. The alcohol was making his brain fuzzy, so he wasn't completely thinking about the all the outcomes, just his main idea. If it worked, it would work. It did for him, so why not for her? Finishing his last shot, Spike slapped some money onto the counter and headed out to the back of the pub into the alley, where he dropped down into the sewers and set off towards his apartment…as well as he could while drunk. Pausing, he tried to recount just exactly how much he had to drink, but shrugged it off and continued walking, while trying to remember the direction. Was it a left, straight, another left, then a right or was it a right, intersection and a double left? Did it really matter? Maybe he should call Connor…oh, that's right…no cell reception in the sewers…damn.

"Well, well, well, this is quite a surprise. A good surprise."

Spike whirled around to see Buffy standing before him. She had her hands on her hips, her legs shoulder-width apart, while four vampires stood behind her.

"Buffy, I think I've figured a way to help you," Spike said.

"Are you drunk?" Buffy asked, wrinkling her nose in disgust, "Eh, whatever."

With a click of her fingers, she motioned to Spike and the vampires carried out her silent order. Realizing what was going on, Spike threw a few punches, but they weren't having as much affect as he'd like, with him being intoxicated and all, so it was no surprise to him when he was floored by a powerful fist to his temple.

"Boys, I think we have another victim for interrogation," Buffy smiled.

She was standing over Spike and the last thing he saw was her boot coming down.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Angel smashed through the ice wall with a groan, hitting the wall as Eddie came at him, swinging his fist. Dodging, Angel struck him in the stomach, followed by a blow to the jaw. Eddie stumbled back, receiving a kick to his chest that threw him onto his back. Rolling back over onto his feet as soon as he landed, Eddie caught hold of Angel's foot and rose up, throwing the vampire to the ground. He swung his leg in a sweeping motion, but Eddie jumped over it, as Angel rolled over and kicked him in the stomach, then rose up fully and swung his fist. Eddie blocked the blow, but caught the second punch on his chin, whirling around, his tail slamming into Angel's side and throwing him to the ground. He instantly rolled onto his feet, spinning around to parry Eddie's fist and punch him in the face.

"I thought I told you to leave LA," Angel said.

"And I thought I said I'd return," Eddie replied, "Guess neither of us listened."

He punched, but Angel blocked and struck him back, only to get punched in return. With a growl, Angel swung his fist at the same time as Eddie did and the pair staggered back, before falling to their knees, as clapping rang out.

"Very nice," Angus said, striding into the lair with Kumiko by his side, "Now, Angel, hand over the Eye or surrender your soul."

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	22. Surrender Your Soul

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Spike groaned and groggily opened his eyes, seeing that he was in a small bare room, that his duster was missing, that he was chained to a chair and also that he wasn't alone, due to Buffy and two other vampires being in the room.

"You know, love, when it came to bondage, didn't think you'd go this far," Spike said with a smirk, "It is a bit much."

"Always were such a charmer," Buffy said, placing her hands on his shoulders, "And that charm always got you out of trouble or mostly into it."

"What can I say? I'm a bad boy at heart."

Buffy settled herself onto his lap, tracing his cheekbones with a finger.

"A bad boy who wears his heart on his sleeve," she said, leaning her lips close to his, "And I want that heart," she added in a hushed tone.

Although the alcohol was wearing off, Spike's brain still felt fuzzy and he found himself leaning closer, wanting to close the gap and kiss her, but then she moved away from him with a sinister smirk and he barely suppressed the disappointed groan.

"So tell me, Spike, what are Giles and the others up to?" Buffy asked.

"You really think I'd tell you, love?" Spike replied, "I'm not that stupid."

"Well, I don't know about that. Blood doesn't always rush in the direction of your brain, remember?"

Spike growled in his throat. The demon in Buffy was exploiting her memories, trying to use that special night of theirs against him. Psychological warfare. But he knew he wouldn't break. He had been taught by Angelus on how not to break, but she didn't know that. Didn't need to know that.

"There's another reason why you're holding me, pet," Spike said, "Couldn't have nabbed me just to ask about the Scoobies. You want something more than that."

"I guess you're right," Buffy agreed, "See, there's this artefact called the Eye of Ramras. Amplifies power. I want it. Giles and Angel will find it and then they'll give it to me in exchange for you."

"Ha, I don't think Angel is going to trade that for me. He would choose the lesser of two evils, which is keeping the Eye and leaving me to you."

"In which case, I'll just kill you."

"Perhaps you will," Spike said with a shrug, "But you still wouldn't have the Eye."

"Well, get ready to spend a long time here," Buffy said, "You're not going to be leaving here and I don't think they'll care enough to look for you."

"Just you and me alone for eternity. I like the sounds of that. We've already got the chains here, all we need is a whip and we're set."

"God, shut up!" Buffy growled, punching him, "Is that all you think about?"

"Blood doesn't always rush in the direction of my brain, remember?"

With another snarl, Buffy struck Spike with an uppercut, but the force of the blow knocked him off the chair, which shattered beneath his weight and he quickly booted Buffy in the stomach when she moved for him, before sliding out of the chains as Archie and Donald came rushing at him. Hurling the chains at Archie, Spike caught Donald's fist and flipped him onto his back, before snapping a leg off the chair and staking him. Buffy got up and kneed at his groin, but he blocked, only to take a fist to the face, as Archie came in again. Parrying his fist and staking him through the back, Spike pivoted to kick Buffy in the stomach, as she grabbed his leg and dragged him to the ground. He kicked her in the face, rolling back onto his feet, parrying her fist and punching her in the face. As Buffy staggered back, Spike picked the chains up, before snapping it at Buffy and striking her in the head. She growled, moving in and dodging the chain, before punching him in the face, then grabbed him by the shirt and threw him against the wall. Spike groaned when he landed, still keeping hold of the chian and he flung it at Buffy, hitting her in the legs. She hit the floor, as Spike rushed her, kneeing her in the face as she started to get up, then he straddled her, wrapping the chains around her arms. Buffy snarled, trying to break free, but he punched her in the face, using the opportunity to bound her legs, before stepping back.

"Not so fun when you're the one tied up, is it now?" he asked.

"I'll kill you, Spike, I swear!" Buffy snarled.

"Yeah, yeah, heard it all before, pet. Empty threats and all."

Raising his boot, Spike brought it down upon Buffy's face, knocking her out. With a regretful sigh, he headed over to where his duster was hanging and drew the cell phone out, glad to see he still had some coverage, before dialling a number.

"Spike?" Willow answered, "What's going on?"

"I need you to do me a favour, Red," Spike replied, "Can you open a portal for me? I wish to go to Uganda."

"Okay…what's in Uganda, why do you need to go there and where are you?"

"I'm not entirely sure where I am, so do a location spell. Don't worry about why, I'll tell you when I get back. Think you can do it?"

"Um, yeah, I can. Give me five minutes."

"Thanks, Red, I can wait."

True to her word, a portal opened up before Spike within five minutes and with a smile, Spike slid his duster on, grabbed the unconscious Buffy and stepped through.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"What will taking my soul gain for you?" Angel asked, "I declined your invitation all those years ago and I still will, with or without a soul."

"True, but you won't be working with Buffy's gang, would you now?" Angus replied, "And they'll kill you. So, if you want to stay on their side, give me the Eye."

"Eddie, he can't have the Eye," Angel said, "Don't let him have it."

"I can sense power in the woman," Eddie said, "She wields strong magicks."

"If things do go haywire, I want you to go to the Watchers' Council in London."

"What makes you think I'll do what you say?"

"Kill the spare," Angus told Kumiko.

She smiled and raised her hands, which were glowing with blue magical energy and she encased Eddie in a sphere of magic, which began constricting around the devil. Thinking fast, Angel grabbed the nearest object, which was the table, surprisingly left untouched by the fight and he hurled it at Kumiko, knocking her to the ground and causing the sphere to disappear from Eddie. He growled, raising his hand and Angus had to jump out of the way to avoid the wave of icicles that suddenly flew at him.

"I don't like him," Eddie growled, "He annoys me."

"Two of them against two of us," Angel said, "We can do this."

Vamping out, Angel moved towards the rising Kumiko, punching her in the face, as Angus elbowed him in the ribs from behind, knocking him to the ground, but then Eddie came in, swinging his fist. Whirling around, Angus grabbed both his wrist and throat, before slamming him against the wall, putting cracks in the concrete.

"Whoever the hell you are, this is not your business," Angus growled.

"It's my business now," Eddie snarled, "You just tried to kill me."

Angus shrugged, "Told you it wasn't your business."

Eddie's tail snapped around and he struck Angus, as Angel came in from behind, wrenching the older vampire away, before getting kicked away by a flying Kumiko. She smiled, only to get hit in the jaw by Eddie, as he grabbed her by the shoulders and hurled her against the opposite wall. She groaned from the impact, as Angus landed a kidney shot on Eddie. He hissed, whirling around with a backhand, except that Angus caught his arm and with a simple gesture, flung him to the ground.

"Kumiko, start the spell," Angus ordered.

She nodded and began chanting in an ancient language, as Angel lashed out at Angus. Catching his wrist, Angus kneed him in the stomach, before palming him in the chest. Angel fell to the ground, slowly getting to his feet, watching as Eddie was slammed into the ground by Angus once more. Suddenly, a white glow enveloped Angel and he cried out in agony, feeling his soul being torn from his body. Kumiko finished the spell, as the glow faded and Angel collapsed to the ground.

"You have it?" Angus asked.

Kumiko nodded and smiled, holding up the Moi-ping jar, which was glowing brightly from Angel's soul being contained inside. Angus grinned, turning to Angel's form.

"Time to wake up, Angelus. You're back now."

"No, I've just been here the whole time," Angelus said, getting to his feet, "Just had a slight issue of a soul being in the way. So, is this where I join you in thanks?"

"No, you'll join me if you don't want your soul returned," Angus said, motioning to the Moi-ping, "I believe you are familiar with it? Join us and you'll stay soulless."

"Man, you love making deals, don't you?" Angelus smirked, watching as Kumiko made the Moi-ping vanish with a wave of her hands, "Alright, I'll join you."

"Excellent. Now, kill him," Angus motioned to Eddie.

Before the devil could do anything, Angelus was behind him and snapped his neck, grinning at his body with satisfaction, as Angus strode towards the bookcase, seizing the Eye of Ramras and a grin spread across his face.

"Kumiko, we have what we came for. All we need now is Buffy. Open the portal."

Kumiko nodded and chanted a spell, opening a portal which she stepped through. Angelus looked between the portal and Angus, before shrugging and stepping through, as Angus followed him with a smirk.

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	23. Connor and Dawn

**So, let's a take from the mayhem for a little light chapter. Gonna need for the next chapter.**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Could you at least lighten up?" Dawn said, "Would a smile really kill you?"

"I'm learning that I don't like London," Connor said, "That man was quite rude."

"The one on the bus or the one at the café?"

"Uh, both. Are they all really that rude?"

"You get used to it," Dawn replied breezily, "Come on, let's check out Big Ben."

"It's a clock. A giant clock, but a clock nonetheless," Connor said, "So, unless there's something fascinating about it, I'm not going."

"There is something fascinating about it, apart from it being a giant clock."

"Really? And what's that?"

"I'm going to be there. Come on."

With a strength that surprised him, Dawn dragged him towards the nearest bus stop, waiting as a double-decker bus soon pulled up and she dragged him onto the vehicle, heading for the top row and sitting down at the back. Soon after waking up this morning and heading to the Watchers' Council with his father, Connor was met by Dawn, who had apparently decided to take him out into London for the day, whether or not he agreed. As a result, they had taken a bus to a café that Dawn enjoyed going to for breakfast, during which Connor had to resist killing two rude men who had been undignified towards Dawn, not that it bothered her. She was quite used to it. And while the food at the café had been quite good and he enjoyed talking to Dawn, Connor had felt uncomfortable with the amount of people he was surrounded by. Even in his fake life, he had preferred to be in small crowds, never large crowds, as he felt suffocated by the masses pressing in on him from all sides.

"Connor!" Dawn cried, "We're here. Come on."

"Oh. Sorry.

It took a while for the pair to get tickets, but once they did, it wasn't long before they joined the next tour group of the Big Ben. Connor wasn't exactly enthused about it, but he was only going along because of Dawn. If he was being honest with himself, he liked the girl. There was something about her that drew him in and he was completely fine with it. She really was a beautiful girl and lately he had been wondering what it would be like if he kissed her. What would she taste like? Strawberries?

"Connor, could you keep up?" Dawn asked once they were inside, "I know this isn't exactly your idea of a good time, but hey, it can't be all that bad."

"No, it definitely can't be," Connor agreed, his eyes trailing down her back to her butt once more as soon as she had turned her back.

Dawn smirked to herself, knowing exactly where his eyes were looking and she made sure to put a bit of an extra sway into her hips as she walked, looking over her shoulder and grabbing Connor so he didn't walk into a wall, taking hold of his hand.

"Maybe it's best if you walk next to me," she reasoned, "Less chance of walking into things."

Connor nodded, his throat suddenly dry, while his hand that was entwined with Dawn's was feeling hot from the close proximity of her hand and the pair found themselves hanging towards the back of the tour group, not that they really cared.

"Alright, people," the tour guide said, "Please stay close together. We're about to enter the working mechanisms of the Big Ben. I hope you enjoy your visit here."

Dawn was wowed by what she saw inside the tower, but Connor wasn't interested. There was only one thing here that he found interesting and she was currently holding his hand, giving him a smile as she pulled him after the group for the tour.

"Okay, whoa, those are some pretty impressive bells," Connor said.

"Boys and their toys," Dawn said in a mocking tone, "If only, huh?"

"Huh?"

Dawn rolled her eyes, seeing that her innuendo had gone right over his head. Instead, she dragged him along after the others as they ascended the stairs towards the clock face. The climb was nothing for Connor, due to both his upbringing in Quor-toth and his vampiric heritage, while Dawn was having some slight difficulties, but she made it to the clock face, while the tour guide spoke about the history of the bells.

"And that concludes our tour," the guide finished, "Which, incidentally, begins our lunch. And the special of the day? Virgin," he leered at Dawn.

"Uh, I don't think this is part of the tour," Dawn said.

Four demons appeared from the corners of the tower, surrounding the group, as the tour guide continued grinning, shedding his human form to reveal his true demonic self: a six-foot-tall demon with murky brown skin, clawed fingers, a slightly armoured hide and ridges along his elongated head. A long, strong tail whipped from side to side, his beady red eyes gleaming with excitement as he licked his sharp fangs.

"They're going to kill us!" cried a middle-aged woman.

"Bring her to me," the tour guide growled, pointing at Dawn, "I want to eat her!"

The demon nearest to Dawn grabbed her shoulder, but Connor wrenched his hand aside and punched him in the face, both the surprise and force of the blow knocking the demon off his feet. A second demon lunged at Connor, swinging his claws, but Connor blocked and punched him in the stomach, then in the jaw.

"Stop him!" the guide cried, "He's ruining lunch!"

"Dawn, get them out of here!" Connor cried, "I'll hold them off."

"You sure?"

The first demon came at Connor from behind, as he flicked his fist over his shoulder.

"I'll be fine. Get them out of here."

"Alright, come on peoples, let's get running!" Dawn cried.

As the demons converged on Connor, the tour group followed Dawn towards the stairs. A demon went for them, but Connor moved fast, grabbing his tail and pulling him to the ground, before sliding him along the floor away from the stairs. Connor turned towards the next demon, as the guide punched him in the face.

"You're interesting. Unfortunately, you ruined lunch for us, so let's hope you're also delicious. Boys, let's eat him."

Connor smirked, drawing out a small dagger from his belt and whirling around towards the nearest demon, parrying his strike and ramming the dagger into his soft throat. The demon choked, before falling dead at Connor's feet, as the other three demons lunged at him. Connor fought against them as best as he could, giving more blows than he received, as the tour guide joined the fray, punching Connor in the face when the opportunity presented itself. He staggered back, losing his dagger from a tail strike to the hand, but in his opinion, the minions were more roughed up than he was, with two of them sporting some kind of bloody injury caused by his dagger.

"So, you've been giving tour guides and then eating the people?" Connor said, "How come people don't notice the disappearances?"

The guide shrugged, "I imagine they do, but it doesn't really matter. Lot of people in this city. And it's not like we're killing all the time. Only every three to four months."

"Well, from now on, there's going to be no more killing. I'm going to stop it."

"You? And who do you think you are?"

"The name's Connor. I'm the son of Angel or maybe you know him better as Angelus."

The guide scrunched up his face in confusion, "Sorry, can't say I do. Kill him."

The demons snarled and lunged at Connor once more, as he wrapped his arms around the head of the nearest demon, before lifting his body up and booting a demon in the chest, then wrenched his arms swiftly, snapping the demon's neck, as a second demon kicked him in the chest. Connor staggered back, but deflected his next attack and rammed him into the Big Ben bell, causing a massive chime. The demons and Connor staggered around, holding their ears in agony, until Connor punched a demon in the face. He whirled around from the blow, swinging his tail high and Connor hit the floor, but quickly rolled back onto his feet, lashing out with a kick that doubled the demon over, giving Connor the chance to break his neck. Moving towards the next demon, Connor traded blows with him, then dealt him the same death blow as the others, before scoring another punch in the face from the guide.

"I've never met anyone like you before. What are you?"

"Don't worry, I've been asking myself that for years," Connor replied, "But, hey, I know what you are."

"Really? And what's that?" the guide asked.

"Dead."

The guide frowned and whirled around, just as Dawn rammed the dagger into his throat. His eyes betrayed his shock at being killed by a human girl, before he keeled over and joined his minions, as Dawn hurried over to Connor's side.

"You alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, I am now," Connor smiled, "You get everyone out?"

"I did, which means we have to go before the authorities arrive."

"Wait. I just want to do one thing first."

Before Dawn could do or say anything, Connor pulled her close, bringing their lips together. She really did taste like strawberries and she drew back in a daze, a smile soon appearing and a similar one appeared on Connor's face.

"So, it takes demons, not tours, to get you to kiss me?"

Connor gave her a slightly nervous shrug in reply, but she rolled her eyes instead.

"How about we check out the Tower of London?"

"It's not that scary," Connor replied, "Dad's been there before."

"That's Angel, not us. What do you think we'll find there?"

"A lot of hidden areas for make-out sessions."

"Such a boy. Never thinking with your brain. But good idea. Let's go!"

Grabbing Connor by the hand, Dawn hurried him out of the tower and into a cab.

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	24. Getting A Break

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Eddie groaned as he woke up, getting into a sitting position, his head hanging loosely to the side. Grabbing hold of his head, Eddie positioned it back into place, twisting it back onto his neck, as the injury healed and he was able to resume his human form.

_"I hate it when that happens."_

He thought about what had happened, wondering what he should do next. Obviously, he needed to go after Angelus and the vampire responsible for bringing him back, but Angel's words rang in his head about going to London if things got bad. And with Angelus back, things were about to go very bad. With a sigh, Eddie decided to go to London, hoping he could find the help he needed that Angel had hinted at. Leaving the sewers, Eddie arrived back at his apartment, just as his phone rang.

"Yeah, what?" he answered, hearing that it was his contact, "Look, something's come up. It's just going to have to wait…she's in London? That's where I'm going. Yeah, I guess I can do that while I'm there…it's nothing important, really. Goodbye."

He hung up and tossed his phone onto the bed, before opening his bedside table, drawing out a pencil and paper that contained a list of people to be eliminated. Eddie unfolded the paper, annoyed that Angel and Spike still weren't crossed off, as he added a new name to the list: Buffy Summers.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Wonder how long it's going to take Angel to find the Eye?" Xander mused.

After sending Angel back to Los Angeles, the trio had been waiting on any word from the vampire that he had found the artefact, while also waiting on any word from Faith, who was currently out on the streets, trying to locate Buffy's whereabouts. Both Connor and Dawn had gone out together and switched off their phones, while Spike was also unable to be contacted, leaving the three with very little to do. Or more accurately, left Willow and Xander without anything to do, while Giles researched.

"If you're bored, you could always dust the bookshelves," Giles commented.

"Could, but I wouldn't want to rob you of a job you can do so well," Xander replied.

"Well, shouldn't you be training the Slayers?"

"Kennedy's doing that and I'm so not getting involved in that. No matter how appealing it is to be training with scantily-clad women, I…um…never mind."

Willow rolled her eyes in amusement, as Giles sighed and returned to his books, frowning when he came across a photo of Kumiko, described to him by Spike.

"Ah, here we go. Kumiko Ishihara, daughter of Kazuo. Oh and apparently she's trained under Saga Vasuki. I'm not entirely sure who that is, but I believe-"

"Saga Vasuki?" Willow asked, "I've been taught by her. She's very difficult to get to and she's very picky about who she chooses to train."

"Is it possible for you to contact her?" Giles asked, "If we could learn about what Kumiko knows, then we could hopefully prepare against her next attacks."

"I…uh…it is kinda hard," Willow replied, a little nervously, "But I could give it a try. It'll take a while."

"That's fine," Giles said, missing her tone, "We don't have anything else going on."

At that moment, Xander's phone rang and he quickly answered it, talking for about a minute or two, before hanging up and turning to the others.

"That was Faith. She asked around and found Buffy's hideout. Surprisingly, the vampires there surrendered and a few of them did talk. Apparently, Buffy kidnapped Spike, but the strange part is, they've both disappeared."

"Oh, I think I had something to do with that," Willow replied, "Spike contacted me earlier. I didn't know he was with Buffy, but he asked for a portal."

"A portal to where?" Giles asked.

"He said Uganda. I think that's a place in Africa. I don't know why he wanted to go there, but when I asked, he didn't give me an answer."

"What would make Spike go-" Xander started, as realisation dawned on him, "That's where Spike got his soul. Maybe he's taken Buffy there for the same purpose."

"Spike wanted his soul and fought for it," Giles reasoned, "Buffy doesn't want it and so, she won't fight for it. He's wasting his time. She will just kill him instead."

Willow was about to say something, but her phone flashed and she opened the text message. She didn't recognise the number, but the message only contained one word: Incoming. She frowned, trying to figure out what that meant, when the entire building was rocked by an explosive shockwave, throwing everyone to the ground.

"What's going on?" Xander asked.

"We're under attack," Giles replied, "Again. And this time, the sun is down."

He got to his feet and headed for the weapons cabinet, tossing a crossbow to Xander, before taking one for himself, as gunshots rang out from within the building.

"Guns? If that's vampires, why are they using guns?" Xander asked.

"Easier to kill Slayers with. Very undignified," Giles answered, "Let's go."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Kumiko smiled to herself at the carnage that was displayed before her, the bodies of Slayers spread out against the walls and floor, the scent of blood thick in the air.

_"Such a shame to waste such good blood, but it gets the job done."_

"Take her down, girls."

Kumiko turned around as a small group of Slayers came for her and a smile appeared on her face, as she raised her hand, creating a large magical disc, while she then hurled. The edges of the disc stretched across the width of the hallway, slicing through the walls as it reached the Slayers, slicing straight through all their bodies, save for one Slayer, who had managed to duck in time. However, as she got to her feet, she saw Kumiko standing right in front of her and the vampire grinned, creating a small wall of magic that unleashed a jet of flames upon the Slayer and she screamed as she fell to the ground, the flames scorching her body and setting the wall alight.

_"So, this is the power of the Eye of Ramras? Interesting. I must find a way to fully claim this power for my own."_

After returning to their safe house in London, Angus had been able to unlock the Eye's power and was able to distribute it between himself, Kumiko and Angelus, before making a plan to destroy the Watchers' Council, this time, incorporating his armed forces into the scheme, aiming for a better success rate with the Slayers. And now having experienced for herself what the Eye could do for her, Kumiko wanted more. She knew that if she could harness the full power of the Eye, then she would be the most powerful witch in the world and no-one would be able to stop her.

"Kumiko," came Angus' voice in her ear, "Time to meet up now. Let's finish this."

"As you wish, Master."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Giles fired his crossbow, hitting a vampire square in the heart, before having to dive behind the bookshelves as bullets ripped their way through them. Xander was hiding nearby, reloading his crossbow, as Willow was busy trying to put up a shield, but the gunfire was breaking her concentration. The gunfire then ceased and Giles risked a look, as Angus, Kumiko and Angelus stepped into the room.

"Oh no," Xander muttered, "They've converted him. Angelus is back."

"And hope for us winning has just gone down," Giles said, "Willow, the spell."

"I don't have an Orb."

A blast of magical energy tore through the bookshelf right next to Willow and she quickly scurried out of the way, as Kumiko suddenly appeared, grabbing hold of Willow and throwing her out through the window, before following after her, leaving just Xander and Giles, as Angus and Angelus rounded the bookshelves.

"So, this is where the little vermin are hiding," Angelus said, "Kinda ironic for a librarian. And pitiful for the whelp."

"Rupert Giles, you're the leader of these Slayer cells, correct?" Angus asked.

"I believe that would be Buffy, but since you've turned her, yes, I believe I am," Giles answered, getting to his feet, "So, what brings you here? Buffy's not here."

"We're not after Buffy. Not right now. It's you we're after."

In a flash, Angus grabbed Giles, holding him by the throat, as Xander made a move for him, but Angelus was faster, grabbing Xander into a chokehold.

"Hey, Angus, now that we've got these twerps, any chance I could torture them to find out where Buffy is?" Angelus asked, "It's her we really want, right?"

"That's true," Angus replied, "But there is no need for torture here. It's so distasteful."

Quick as a flash, Angus broke Giles' neck and dropped his body to the ground, as Xander looked on in horror at the Watcher's limp body, before getting thrown there by Angelus, as Angus watched Xander with a satisfied smirk.

"However, this sort of torture is the kind I like. We've done what we needed to do here. Time to call it in and return to base."

He walked away, as Xander looked up at Angelus with tears in his eye, but Angelus smirked at him, before following after Angus, who recalled his men away from the building, which had mostly caught ablaze thanks to Kumiko. Lifting up Giles' body, Xander carried him away from the building, himself the only survivor of the slaughter.

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	25. Farewell to You

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Buffy groaned and slowly opened her eyes, not recognising her surroundings at all.

"You're awake," Spike said, "Good to see."

"Where the hell am I?" Buffy growled.

"Uganda. Great place. Very soul-searching."

"Wait…Uganda? Africa? Is this where you got your soul?"

"Sure is, darling. Thought he could help you with your…problem."

"Ha! I don't need help, Spike, but you surely do."

He shrugged, pulling on the chain and dragging Buffy into the cave. She growled and snarled, pulling against her restraints, but to no avail, as she was taken deeper into the dark, dank cave, but she had no problems seeing, as Spike finally stopped pulling.

"Alright, we're here. We just gotta wait for-"

"Spike. What brings you back here?" came the low rumbling voice of the cave demon.

"Never mind," Spike said, "He's here. Hi again!" he said to the darkness, "I've-"

"You came here searching for your soul. You have it. Why are you back? And hurry it up. I have other matters that need attention and I cannot wait on you."

"Alright, I'll make it quick," Spike said, "See, my friend here, she needs help and-"

"She does not want it," the demon said, "You're wasting your time."

"At last, someone's finally listening to me!" Buffy sighed.

"Just hear me out, mate," Spike said, "I need help with her. Do to her what you did to me. I know you can do it and-"

"Silence!"

Thick tendrils suddenly burst from the rock wall, wrapping around Spike and pulling him against the wall, holding him in place, as Buffy smirked at his predicament.

"I made you prove your worth. She is not interested and so, I will not test her."

"So, can you let me go?" Buffy asked, "Oh and leave him there like that?"

"You come in and disrupt my business, waste my time and you think you can just leave like it's nothing?" the cave demon demanded, "No. If you want to leave, then you'll have to convince me to let you go!"

A gate of rocks sealed up the exit, as a Horager demon stepped out of the darkness. It spied Buffy and snarled, stepping towards her, as she struggled to get out of the chains, but the Horager grabbed her and hurled her across the cavern until she struck a stalagmite, the chains breaking from the force and she fell to her hands and knees.

"Alright then," Buffy growled, vamping out, "I'll play your little game."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Connor and Dawn were sharing smiles with each other as they got out of the taxi, but stopped in horror when they saw the fire-fighters battling the blaze that had consumed the Watchers' Council, while paramedics were tending to anyone who had been injured in the inferno, as police officers corralled the public, keeping them at bay.

"There's Xander," Dawn cried, "But I don't see Willow or Giles anywhere."

Xander was standing nearby, watching the blaze with a distant look in his eye, as the young pair joined him, but he didn't look at them, still transfixed by the raging fire.

"Xander, what happened?" Dawn asked.

"They found it," Xander replied, "They found the Eye. And they came here."

"Who's they?" Connor asked.

"Angus…Kumiko…Angelus."

"Wait, Angelus? You mean my father's turned evil again? Xander, are you sure?"

"I'm sure. He held me down while Angus killed Giles."

"Back up," Dawn cried, "Giles is dead? They killed Giles?"

Xander looked at her and slowly nodded. Dawn fell to her knees, her shoulders shaking as the tears fell from her eyes. Xander shared her sadness and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, as Connor knelt beside her and pulled her into his arms, as she cried into his chest while he rubbed her back, whispering soothing words.

"Oh my God, what happened?"

Xander turned around as Willow staggered towards him, cuts lining her face and arms, as she brushed pieces of concrete dust and rubble from her hair. Xander moved to her, pulling her into a bone-crushing hug, which she returned after a moment.

"Xander, where's Giles?" Willow asked.

"I'm sorry, Will, but I couldn't stop them," Xander replied, "He's dead."

"What? No, that can't be true! Xander, it can't be true!"

The look on his face told her he wasn't lying and she broke down into tears, mirroring Dawn's posture, as Xander knelt down with her, holding as she cried into his shoulder, just like she had cried when she heard Jenny Calender had been killed.

Eddie Hope arrived on the scene, gazing at the inferno that engulfed the Watchers' Council and he wondered if he had wasted his time coming here for help, noticing the four people their knees, two of whom were crying in the others' arms and he wondered if they were friends of Angel, before recognising the young man.

"Hi there," Eddie said as he approached the group.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Connor demanded, standing before Dawn.

"I bore witness to your father's transformation and before he changed, he told me to come here for assistance, so here I am."

"You just want to kill Angel. We can restore him back to normal."

"Perhaps you can. But that said, I can still help. You have my word that I will help you restore your father and destroy the vampire responsible."

Connor looked at his extended hand, debating whether he should accept or not, before reluctantly shaking his hand.

"Great. Now that's done, let's get out of here," Eddie said.

"Xander, is there somewhere else we can go?" Connor asked.

"There is a base in Scotland we can go to," Xander replied, "I'll make the call."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Like most normal English days, it was raining when the funeral took place. Only a handful of people had turned up, as it would have been too much for the Scoobies to have most of the Slayers there, so they had opted to keep the guest list short. Andrew had flown in from Rome as soon as he received the news. Willow had been unable to contact Spike and she began to fear for his safety, while Eddie had even turned up at the funeral, despite the fact that he didn't know or had ever met Giles. Connor had held Dawn as she cried while the coffin was being lowered into the ground, while Xander held both Willow and Faith, the latter holding a stoic look on her face, but Xander knew that she was hurting on the inside. He had just wished that Buffy could have been here, whether she was evil or not, he just wanted her to say goodbye.

As the undertakers began filling in the grave, Xander led the others out of the cemeteries and into a limousine provided by Andrew to take them back to Scotland. The trip was silent, with everyone barely uttering a word, even for the entire duration, all lost in their thoughts, mourning the man who had brought them all together.

"So, what's the plan?" Connor asked, holding a sniffling Dawn as they reached the Scotland Headquarters, "There has to be something we can do."

"I could try and re-ensoul Angel, but he'll have to be close by," Willow replied, "And he seems to be under the same cloaking spell as Angus and Buffy."

"I didn't expect this to happen," Faith said, "Angelus returns, Giles' death, I just-"

"None of us saw it coming," Xander tried to comfort her.

"I should have been there, Xander. If I had been, maybe Giles would still be alive."

"You don't know that. You might have been killed as well."

"And where's Spike?" Dawn asked, "Why has no-one called him?"

"Because we can't, sweetie," Willow answered, "Believe me, I've tried."

The limousine pulled up outside the castle and everyone got out, as Andrew tipped the driver and they all trooped inside the headquarters, with Xander heading to his designated room. With a sigh, he removed his suit jacket and loosened his tie, settling heavily down on his bed and reaching for the scotch. Without Angel, Buffy and Giles, he was now commander of the Slayer. It was now up to him to take on the leadership role, make the decisions and call the shots that were needed. It was all up to him. He just hoped that he could do what was required of him now.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

The Horager roared as it caught Buffy's arm on the swing and hurled her across the cavern. She snarled, blood trickling from a cut on her forehead as she darted in, avoiding the large fist that came swinging at her and she lashed out with a kick to the Horager's kneecap. The demon roared as its knee was broken, belting Buffy aside with a backhand, but she was quickly back onto her feet, running at the Horager and sliding between its legs, before leaping onto its back, grabbing hold of its neck. The Horager snarled, trying to throw her off, but she held fast, before tearing the demon's throat out. The demon staggered and collapsed, as Buffy shifted back to normal.

"There, it's done. Now let me out."

The cave demon laughed, "You really think it's that easy? Guess again."

Hissing could be heard coming from the darkness and Buffy turned around, as two serpent humanoids came slithering out to face her.

"Great, this could be a while."

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	26. Sex in the Air

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Angelus was lying down asleep on the couch, wearing only a pair of leather pants and boots, his arms crossed behind his head, when Kumiko slinked into his room, wearing only a set of lacy black underwear, as she made her way over to the couch, lightly running a finger down his muscled, tattooed chest, but he didn't stir and she smiled as she then straddled his hips, something that did wake him up and cause him to grin cockily.

"A wet dream come true. What can I do for you, Miss Ishihara? Or is it, what would you like me to do to you?"

"I wish to discuss something with you," Kumiko replied, "But we can talk business while mixing it with pleasure, no?"

"Hmm, I wouldn't say no to that," Angelus grinned, running his hands up and down her body, "So, what do you want to discuss?"

"The Eye of Ramras. I want to unlock its full potential and make it mine."

"Let me guess, you want me to help you with it? Doesn't that mean we would be betraying Angus?"

"Yes, but then you could seize control of his operations."

"Appealing," Angelus mused, gripping her long hair and pulled her close to him, "But, question: if you're willing to betray Angus, wouldn't you then betray me?"

"I could make you the god that Angus wishes to be," Kumiko replied, kissing and nipping along his collarbone.

"Angus wants to be a god, huh? Who would've thought?"

"It's what he's been trying to do for years. He wishes to become the Old One Arsgomor and plunge the world into darkness."

"I thought it would be hard for a vampire to pull off an Ascension like that," Angelus said, pushing his hips up against hers, "Normally, you'd have to be a human."

"An Ascension is a transformation into a pure demon. A vampire is partially demon and so can do one, but it calls for slightly different ingredients. Like a vampire slayer."

"Oh, do tell," Angelus said, his hands moving to her clasp.

She let out a small gasp when he unclipped her bra and tossed it aside, his hands replacing the garment and she allowed herself to get lost in the moment, just for a minute, before bringing herself back to reality.

"Angus sired Buffy because her now-diluted blood is required for the ritual. It's one of the most difficult ingredients to acquire. He's been trying for years, but with failure."

"I see. And you think I'll be a better candidate for this ritual?"

"Angelus, you are the most dangerous vampire in the world," Kumiko replied, "I think it would make perfect sense for you to do this and not Angus."

"Hm, interesting. Except," he said, flipping them over so he was now on top, "I'm not interested in performing this ritual. I like doing things my way."

"So, instead, you'll be my king if we take down Angus and take the Eye?" Kumiko suggested, "We shall be the most powerful couple in the world."

"Sounds great, but there's one teensy little problem: Willow Rosenberg. She's your competition and the only other person in the world who can stick a soul in me."

"Alright. If I help you take out Willow, you'll help me take out Angus?"

Angelus grinned, roughly kissing her, "It's a deal."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Willow was naked, sitting cross-legged in a veil of mist, waiting for her teacher to arrive. Thankfully, she didn't have to wait long, as Saga Vasuki came into view. With the upper half of a beautiful, green-skinned, white-haired woman and the lower half of a serpent, Saga Vasuki was one of the most respected teachers amongst the dimensions and a smile was gracing her face as she approached Willow.

"My sweet, dear, beautiful Willow, it has been too long," Saga said, her voice like silk, "Tell me, my dear, what brings you back into my domain?"

"I have some questions for you," Willow replied, "Regarding Kumiko Ishihara."

"Ah yes. Miss Ishihara. She was one of my best students before you. I taught her over a hundred years ago, even after she became a vampire and she was quite…gifted."

"Well, we're having some troubles with her. She just recently threw me all around London like I was nothing, destroyed the Watchers' Council and killed my friend."

"I am sorry to hear that," Saga said, "Are you hoping I can help you?"

"If it's not too much to ask," Willow said hopefully.

"I am sorry, my dear, but I cannot help you. I would like to, but it's going to have to be up to you to find a way. Again, I am sorry, but I wish I could help."

"No, it's okay. I can understand, you not wanting your students to fight each other."

"Oh no, it's not that. Kumiko had a lot of raw, untapped potential in her and when she left, she was one of the most powerful witches in the world, at least until you came along. But she's lived for a long time and as such, has had time to hone her abilities. I fear that you have met your match in her, for you have surpassed me and so has she."

"But…can't you teach me any more?" Willow asked, a pleading tone evident in her voice, "Isn't there more I need to know? Something that could help defeat her?"

Saga shook her head slowly, "It's not a matter of who is the more powerful, my dear, but who has the better control over their discipline. Who is the better master."

"She's had a hundred years compared to my six years," Willow muttered.

"Are you really going to let that get to you?" Saga said, "In your short time, you have achieved what it's taken Kumiko fifty years and then some."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Of course I am, my dear. Our time has come to a close now. Until next time."

Saga was gone in the blink of an eye, as the mist faded and Willow woke up, sweating and naked in her own bed. She sat up, her body shaking as she recalled the meeting and decided that she was in need of a shower.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

The serpent humanoid screeched a horrible cry of death when Buffy tore its head right off it shoulders, with a piece of spine still attached and she dropped the head beside the demon's dead companion, as she then sat down, resuming her human features and wiping the blood off her face.

"Is that it?" she called out.

"It? Really? You think it's over?" the cave demon replied.

Buffy rolled her eyes, "Didn't think so."

She hissed as something fast struck her, drawing a thin line of blood on her cheek. Growling, she searched the cavern for the perpetrator, as Spike watched on, when it happened again, this time, nicking her neck. Buffy growled, whirling around on the spot, trying to peer in the darkness, as she was hit again along the stomach. Another attack struck her waist, followed by her arms and legs.

"What the hell is it?"

Huffing, she closed her eyes, focusing on her superhuman hearing, as a buzzing was heard, as it came closer and her reflexes kicked in, snatching the beetle out of mid-air. She grinned to herself, taking in the beetle's blade-like front legs, before she crunched in her palm, then dumped the body on the ground, grinding it beneath her boot.

"A little beetle with blades?" Buffy mocked, "You're going to do - ack!"

Another cut across her neck and she growled, turning towards the darkness, as a loud hum was heard deep within the cavern.

"Oh, this isn't going to be good," Spike muttered.

Buffy gasped as a cloud of beetles came flying out at her, their tiny blades slashing into her body and she tried to fight them off, but to no avail.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Angus, we wish to have a word with you," Kumiko said.

"Really?" Angus replied, "And what would that be about?"

He turned around in his leather armchair, sipping a glass of human blood as he viewed Kumiko and Angelus standing before him with a bored look on his face.

"We've decided that it's best if you stand down," Kumiko continued, "Angelus and I will be assuming control of this entire operation."

"That's, um, interesting. Really bold. But, there's one little problem, Kumiko."

"If you're going to start anything, don't. I hold more power than you do."

"So you think, my dear."

Quick as flash, Angus drew out a small purple gem and uttered a single Latin spell. Kumiko gasped, falling to her knees as she looked at her hands in shock. Angus smiled, getting up from his chair and punching her in the face, drawing blood.

"I gave you everything and you turned on me. Luckily, Angelus told me all about your deceit and luckily, I had prepared for this. See this gem? It seals all your powers, which means you can't perform any spells unless I let you. And you don't be doing any spell-casting until the ritual. Get her out of here," he told his guards.

They removed Kumiko from the room, as Angus turned to Angelus.

"I never would've thought you'd come to me with her betrayal. I thought you would've gone along with it."

"Well, let's just say I was wrong to deny you the first time around," Angelus replied, "I hope you realise this shows my loyalty to you."

"Indeed it does, Angelus. For now, you are my second-in-command."

"Thanks ever so much, milord."

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	27. Fight to the Death

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Eddie stood on the balcony of the castle, watching as the sun began to rise from the horizon of the Scottish Highlands. He leaned against the railing, wondering what his next plan of action was going to be. His primary objective was to team up with Angel's friends and help bring down Angus, while his secondary objective was to locate and kill Buffy Summers. However, after spending some time with the Scoobies, Eddie had come to learn that Buffy was their friend and they were trying to help her as best as they could, which left him wondering what he should do. He figured there was no help for an unrepentant killer, but it appeared that the Scoobies knew of a way that could at least stop Buffy from being a killer, much in the same as it had for Angel.

Should he really kill someone who was trying to turn their lives around for good?

"So, what's your story?"

Eddie turned around to see Faith leaning in the doorway, the cold air of the morning making her cheeks rosy and she pulled the coat tighter against her body, while Eddie was unaffected by the cold air.

"Cold?" he asked with a hint of a smile.

"Nah, not really," Faith replied, "Gonna answer my question?"

"I work as a sort of bounty hunter, if you can call it that. I travel around, hunting down evil beings and I kill them. Usually, I get a call on the next target."

"So someone is getting you to kill evil beings?" Faith said, "Let me guess, that's how you ran into Angel? You were sent to kill him?"

"Yes, both him and Spike. Their names are yet to be crossed off, but I don't know if I should. From what I can gather, Angel and Spike aren't evil anymore."

"Well, apart from the fact Angel is evil again, then yeah, generally," Faith said, "We don't have to worry about you trying to kill Angelus now, are we?"

Eddie shook his head, "No, I don't think you have to. So, what about you? I hear you're a Slayer and that you're really strong fighters."

"That we are. The one chosen to fight against the vampires, demons and the forces of darkness," Faith recited, "Supposed to be one only, but now we've got hundreds."

"Well, I'm yet to be impressed. You're strong, but so is everyone else."

A smile appeared on Faith's face, "If you like, you can come down to the training grounds with me and I'll show you how strong I am."

"No doubt you will," Eddie smirked, "I will happily take you up on the challenge."

"Good. I need a way to warm up. Come this way."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Dawn sat in the middle of the bed, her tears long gone, but her eyes were still red as she stared at the wall, still trying to come to grip with Giles' death. Connor entered the room and noticed how she barely glanced at him, before climbing onto the bed beside her and pulling her into his arms, as she then leaned against his chest.

"I miss him, Connor," Dawn said, her voice just a whisper.

"I know you do," Connor replied, pressing a small kiss to her forehead, "I remember when my favourite uncle died when I was only fourteen. It crushed me. Of course, that was in my fake life, but still, he had meant something to me."

"God, Giles is dead, both Buffy and Angel are evil, Spike is who knows where and Angus wants to kill us all. How are we suppose to win?"

"We just keep trying until we do," Connor said, "We don't give up. We can do this."

"I want to think that we can, but-" Dawn started.

"There is no buts. You really think Giles would want you to sit around, bemoaning about the fate of everyone else or you think he'd want you to keep fighting?"

"Wow, you really are Angel's son, aren't you?"

"Just a few things I picked up from him."

Already starting to feel better, Dawn smiled as she leaned up and kissed him.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Xander stood watch as Willow prepared the teleportation spell. Earlier, she had tied to locate Spike using the spell, but when that turned up no results, Xander had decided to send a small group to Uganda in order to find Spike's whereabouts. He himself didn't really care about what had happened to Spike, but he had done this for Dawn's sake. She had already lost Buffy and Giles, she didn't need to lose Spike as well…again.

_"Not the one guy who would give his life for her without question."_

Since Spike had showed up in London, Xander had wondering where exactly he stood in regards to the vampire. Sure, he had never liked him, even when Spike had regained his soul, but the vampire had sacrificed himself so everyone else could live in that final battle at the Hellmouth. If he was being honest, Xander had mourned Spike's passing, though not as much as he did with Anya's death, but still. And he also owed Spike his life, after Spike had saved him from Caleb. He realised that he was just being stubborn about accepting Spike as a good guy. If he couldn't do that for someone who had given his life, how could he operate as a leader?

"We're good to go," Willow announced, "Xander?"

"Uh, proceed," he ordered.

The team he had selected stepped through the portal and he turned to the live camera feed, watching as they were thrown through space until they arrived in Africa.

"We're here," the team leader, Renee, said, "Where do we start?"

"We have confirmation they're in Uganda?" Xander asked a Slayer and upon receiving a nod, he turned back to Renee, "Just ask around for Spike and Buffy. Someone must have seen them. Keep me posted."

"Will do."

Xander sighed and collapsed onto the black leather armchair, wondering how Buffy and Giles were able to do the job. He hadn't had to make any tough decisions yet, but he knew that time was coming, a time that would show if he was truly a leader.

"Feeling okay?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, for the time being I am," Xander replied, "I hope we find something of them. How's things going with Angelus and the spell?"

"I've tried the location spell, but it seems like I can't get a fix on him. Not only that, but I think there's a problem with obtaining his soul."

"What do you mean?"

"Last time Angelus returned, his soul was placed in a jar, which meant I could ensoul him unless the jar was broken. I think the same again has happened here."

"But you did break it last time, right?" Xander asked.

"This time, I don't think I can. From what I understand about Kumiko, she would have the jar very well protected, even from someone like me."

Xander sighed, "Great. So what are our other options?"

"Pray that Spike is alive?"

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Kate was in the armoury, going over every single detail of her weapons, doing her best to get her mind off the fact that Angel had gone evil and so far, there wasn't a chance to get him back. She wondered if they would ever get him back again, then scolded herself for her pessimism. Of course they were going to get Angel back. And she could…what? What could she do? Declare her feelings to him?

And what exactly were her feelings towards Angel?

If she were being completely honest with herself, Kate could admit that she had always had something for the vampire, she just didn't know what. When they first met, she had found him intriguing and mysterious, but then there was the whole deal with him being a vampire and her father's death that got in the way. But she was now over that, after all these years and she was somewhat surprised that she still had these hidden feelings for Angel. But Kate knew about the losses Angel had in his love life and that he was still trying to get over Cordelia Chase's death. She knew that he wouldn't be interested in a relationship right now, but hey, it wasn't like she was direct with her feelings and was going to ask him. It was what made her a good cop. Plus, Kate knew that she could never compare to Cordelia, so why bother?

With a sigh of frustration, Kate resumed cleaning and loading her guns.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

The serpent humanoid squealed as its head was torn right off its neck, the body getting dropped beside its dead brethren, as Buffy sighed, blood soaking her body and she headed over to the gate, waiting for it to open. However, it remained closed.

"Why aren't you letting me out?" Buffy demanded, "Surely I've proven myself?"

A low chuckle rumbled throughout the cavern, as Spike was dropped to the ground.

"You'll have to fight each other," the cave demon said, "To the death."

A clatter landed beside Spike and he picked up the wooden stake, before tossing it aside into the darkness.

"You should have kept hold of that," Buffy said.

"Why's that?" he asked.

"Because now I'm going to kill you," she replied, before vamping out.

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	28. Death & Revelations

**XXXXXXXXXX**

The streets were deserted and quiet, as Xander and a few Slayers patrolled the area, only armed with stakes, except for Xander, who was carrying a crossbow. Despite now being based in Scotland, Xander had decided upon returning to London for patrols, knowing that Angus and Angelus were still in the city and he wanted nothing more than to find them and kill them both.

"Stay sharp, girls. Just because the streets are empty doesn't mean no-one's around."

"You've got that right, boy-o."

Xander and the Slayers whirled around to see a grinning vampire behind him. Dressed in a combat outfit, he wasn't the only vampire, as four stepped out behind the group.

"But then again, it's just us," the vampire said, "We now control this neighbourhood."

"What are you talking about?" Xander asked.

"Let's just say that Angus' men need feeding. Now, boys, let's kill them."

The four vampires snarled and engaged into combat with the Slayers, as the leader grinned and took off. Seeing as how he wasn't fighting anyone and that he needed information, Xander gave chase, ducking down through the alleys and coming out into an abandoned parking lot, before hearing a window crash and he pursued the noise, coming to a small shop. Taking out his flashlight, Xander peered inside, but was unable to see anything, so he slipped inside the shop, the light moving over everything inside, when he was hit from behind and sent flying along the floor. Managing to keep hold of the crossbow, Xander turned over and fired, hitting the vampire in the right side of his chest. The vampire snarled, removing the bolt, before grabbing Xander and throwing him against the wall. Xander groaned, dropping the crossbow, but he drew a stake inside and stabbed, but the vampire caught his wrist and slung him to the floor.

"You made it so easy," the vampire grinned.

Having taken the stake from Xander, the vampire raised it over him, but the discarded crossbow bolt suddenly appeared in his heart, turning him to dust. Xander frowned, looking up at the person who had saved him and his heart rate went straight up.

"Hi there, Xander," Angelus smirked.

Xander dived for his crossbow, but it was kicked from his hands, as Angelus lifted him up and gave him a small shove, toppling him over again.

"If you're gonna kill me, just do it already," Xander said.

Angelus' grin faded and he took on a saddened look, "I'm sorry about Giles."

"Huh? What are you talking about? You're evil! You can't be sorry about it!"

"Yes, I can be. I'm not evil, Xander," Angelus said, "It's really me, Angel."

Now Xander was immensely confused. Just what exactly was going on?

"Excuse me if I find that hard to believe, Count Kill-a-lot, but if you're really Angel, you wouldn't have helped to kill Giles," Xander said.

"Why do you think I asked if I could torture you both?" Angelus said, "If Angus had agreed, I would have gotten you two out, but he killed Giles instead. Also, just before we attacked, I sent Willow a text message, trying to warn her."

Xander remembered when Willow had told him about the text message. They had tried tracking down the phone number it had come from, but were unsuccessful. Now that he knew about the text and Angelus' hidden message, it was making sense to him.

"But that Eddie guy said he saw you get transformed into Angelus."

Angel smirked, shaking his head, "Believe me, if that spell had really worked, they would've really got Angelus. But I was protected from the spell."

"How?"

"With help from a very special friend of ours."

It took Xander a moment to realise exactly who he was talking about, "Cordelia?"

Angel nodded, "Sure, when the spell ended and I was still me, I was confused, but I still managed to fool them, until she came to me in a dream and explained everything. They think they have my soul in a jar, but it's just an illusion."

"So, you've been tricking them all this time. Do you know what they're planning?"

"Angus wants to become the Old One Arsgomor. I don't know much about him, but it's an Old One, so enough said. That's why he turned Buffy. Her diluted blood is part of the spell used to raise him. It's also why they have the Eye, to help with the spell."

"But we don't know where Buffy is, so without her, they can't do it," Xander said.

"Location spells won't work because Angus has his witches constantly working a spell that prevents Buffy from being found that way," Angel explained, "He's dropped it recently, but wherever she is, it's blocking his location spells."

"And probably why we can't find him either. But you know where he is, right?"

"Of course," Angel smiled slightly, "I am now his second-in-command."

"Do I want to know how you managed to obtain that rank?" Xander asked.

"I exposed Kumiko's betrayal to him, so now she's without her powers. However, that is until they do the ritual, so if you want to attack, now is the time."

"Is there a way for you to sabotage it?" Xander asked.

Angel shook his head, "Not a chance, but I can give you his location. However, he has a full-on army at his disposal. I'm talking commandoes, witches, guns, everything. This guy is really prepared. You'll really have to bring the rain."

"Great. So what are you going to do now?"

"I'm gonna go back and see how much more trouble I can stir up," Angel replied, "You better head back to base and see what more you can find out about Arsgomor."

With a small smirk, Angel turned and exited the shop, as Xander collapsed back on the floor, the information hitting him like a flood and he knew what he had to. There was no way Angus was going to transform into an Old One, not if Xander had anything to say about it. He was going to rally the Slayer army and hit Angus all at once, hopefully wiping him and his organisation from the face of the planet. Quickly getting to his feet and grabbing his crossbow, Xander headed back out onto the streets, where he was soon reunited with his small squadron.

"You're alive," a Slayer named Renee cried, "We thought something bad had happened to you."

"No, but something good has happened," Xander replied, "We're going back to base."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Dawn had finally drifted off to sleep and Connor was content to just lie there next to her, holding her as she slept. She looked really beautiful and Connor was still unable to believe that she was his. He was about to fall asleep himself, when he heard something move outside the bedroom and cautiously, he climbed out of bed, picking up the sword from the bedside, before throwing open the balcony doors and stepping outside, his senses alive for anything resembling a threat. Something moved behind him and he whirled around, swinging the sword, but his arm was blocked and the sword knocked from his hand, as he was then shoved backwards himself.

"Angelus!" Connor hissed, "What are you doing here?"

"Easy, Connor," Angel said, "It's really me, Angel, not Angelus."

"Yeah, I've heard that story before. I'm not falling for it again."

Moving forth, Connor swung his fist, but Angel ducked, before blocking his next few attacks, staying on the defensive, even as one of Connor's punches connected. Catching Connor's leg, Angel dropped him to the ground, before stepping back.

"I'm not here to fight you, son. I'm here to explain myself."

"What are you talking about?" Connor asked, flipping onto his feet, "There is no explanation needed. You're evil again and I have to destroy you."

"No, you don't. I still have my soul. It was all a trick so I could get close to Angus."

"You were there when Angus murdered Giles!"

"I tried to save Giles' life," Angel hissed quietly, "If I was really evil, don't you think I would have brought an army with me, seeing as how I know where you are?"

Connor lowered his fist, thinking about his father's words. It made sense and his father hadn't been trying to kill him at all so far. Staying on the defensive in case it was all a lie, Connor decided to hear his father out first before deciding anything and Angel took this as a sign to start talking.

"Yes, Angus really wanted Angelus on his side, but with some influence from Cordelia, his spell failed, but he doesn't know that. Now that I'm close to him, I've learnt most of his plans, I know how many men he has and all his locations."

"So why are you telling me this?" Connor asked.

"Just trying to convince you that I'm still good," Angel replied, "I've already told Xander a couple of hours ago, so tomorrow morning, he'll tell you all about it. I just came here so you would know that I'm not evil."

Connor sighed, trying to make his decision. He had faced Angelus before and knew what he was like and this man before him was not Angelus, but Angel.

"Alright, fine, I believe you…Dad. Anything else? I'm kinda tired."

Angel glanced inside at the sleeping Dawn, "Take good care of her."

And then he was gone. Connor chuckled slightly to himself and headed back inside.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

The fight had been brutal and long, with neither one able to fully overcome the other. At least until Spike decided that he didn't want to fight anymore, that he didn't want to kill Buffy, hence why he had been holding back, while Buffy on the other hand, had been seeking to kill him and was now exploiting his reluctance, punishing him with powerful blows to his bloody and bruised body, before finally knocking him to the ground, then grabbing the wooden stake and straddling him.

"You're really going to do it?" Spike asked.

"Course I am," Buffy replied, "Only way I'm leaving this place. Any last words?"

"I love you."

She drove the stake downwards.

**XXXXXXXXXX **


	29. Going Down the Rabbit Hole

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"So, where have you been?" Angus asked.

It was approaching sunrise and Angel had just returned to the safe house from Scotland. He was tired from the trip there and back, as well as the explanations he had been giving and the last thing he wanted was to deal with Angus. But that wasn't the case, as Angus had noticed his disappearance, after Angel had hoped he wouldn't.

"Out hunting Slayers," Angel replied, adopting his alter ego's personality, "You know how I don't like being cooped up all the time and how I enjoy the thrill of a hunt."

"Interesting. And what happened to the men you took with you?"

"The Slayers we took on were good. But look at it this way: less men to feed."

"Yes, but less men to fight the Slayers," Angus growled.

Angel shrugged, "Not my fault if your men aren't good enough to fight Slayers. You should really think about training them better. A lot better."

"Are you mocking my operations?"

"No, just merely pointing out your flaws in your operations."

With a snarl, Angus slammed Angel against the wall by his throat, the latter laughing while wondering if his masquerading was going to get him killed. That'd be great.

"I'd watch my tongue if I were you, Angelus," Angus growled, his eyes flashing gold, "You're not the big dog around here and no one will ever back you up."

"I guess I shouldn't have sold Kumiko out then. Imagine if I had her as back up."

"You disgust me, Angelus, but I need you on this, so consider yourself lucky."

"Always do," Angel grinned, "You gonna let me down now?"

Growling, Angus let Angel go and stormed up, as the latter laughed after him until he rounded the corner. With a sigh, Angel turned and headed off towards his room. He'd get a few hours sleep in, before letting Xander know about the location of the base.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Alright, ladies, listen up," Xander said, "We've received word on where Angus is located. It's daytime, so it's perfect for attack. Squadrons from Rome and Cleveland will be backing us up. This place is heavily armed, so just constantly be aware."

"Faith and Xander are your team leaders," Willow said, "So, any questions?"

"Yeah, can we go?" Faith asked.

"Everyone else agree here?" Xander asked.

A chorus of 'yes' greeted him and he silently prayed inside that they could finally end this horror tonight. Sure, there was still the matter of locating Buffy and Spike, but Xander knew he would worry about that once this issue with Angus was done and Giles was avenged. Then, he could get started on finding and helping Buffy.

"Alright, let's get started," Xander said.

Willow created a portal, through which all the Slayers and Xander walked, as she followed after them, coming out in front of a large square complex building.

"You sure this is the place?" Faith asked, "It looks so…ordinary. Not evil."

"I'm sure," Xander replied, "It makes sense for it to be ordinary. Why draw attention to yourself when you can go for subtle, especially for Angus?"

"I guess so."

Two more portals opened up behind the squad, created by Willow and the two squads from Rome and Cleveland arrived, the former being led by Andrew as Willow closed the portals down.

"We've made it," Andrew announced, "Now, let us destroy this evil."

Xander led the Slayers towards the building, busting the door down and entering a corridor. There was no one in sight, until two vampire commandoes rounded the corner. They stopped short at sight of the Slayers and turned to run, but a few Slayers caught up with them, holding them in submissive locks as Xander approached them.

"Boys, I need to have a word with your boss. Know where I can find him?"

The vampires glanced at each other, but otherwise remained quiet.

"Come on guys. I just want a word with Angus. It's not like I'm going to kill him or anything - no wait, that's exactly how it's going to be."

"You kill Angus?" a vampire snorted, "I think it would be him killing you."

"Sure, if he can get past the fifty Slayers I have here with me."

"You have no idea who you're messing with, boy," the other vampire grinned, "Angus has power beyond your comprehension. Fifty Slayers? That's nothing to him."

"If you think your boss can really win against us, why not send us to him?" Xander asked, "Wouldn't it be great to see fifty Slayers get killed in a single swoop?"

"Well, when you put it that way, sure, it sounds great."

"Take the elevator to the main base. Code is 5-2-4-1-5."

"Thank you. Ladies."

Two Slayers staked the vampires, as Xander and Faith found the elevator.

"Guess we're going to have to go down in groups," Faith stated.

"Well, you're going in first," Xander said, "Willow, you come in last. Let's go."

Faith and several Slayers entered the elevator, using the code they had been told to take the elevator down into a large circular base that could be best described as an update of the old Initiative base from Sunnydale.

"I can feel the magic here," Willow said when she entered with the last lot of the Slayers, "This place feels like it's in another reality and - oh."

"Yeah, oh is the right word here," Faith agreed.

The entire base was completely empty. There was not a single sign of any vampires to be found, as Xander motioned to Faith and while he went down the right with a group of Slayers, she took the left, while Willow remained near the elevator.

"Where is everyone?" Faith demanded, "Where did they all go?"

"Will, are you getting anything?" Xander asked.

"No. This entire place is abandoned," Willow replied, coming out of her trance, "It's like they were expecting us to show up."

"I knew I shouldn't have trusted Angel," Xander growled under his breath.

"Wait, hold on. Something's coming."

The entire room began to vibrate, as a large portal opened up above the Slayers and a massive demon came falling out, crushing the outlook on its way down, as Xander and Faith dived out of the way, a few Slayers getting crushed beneath its large size.

"What the hell is that thing?" Faith cried.

Standing on four legs with claws at least three feet long on the front paws, the demon stood at least twenty feet tall, with a dark yellow underside and thick, dark brown armour along its back, while its head seemed to be just a large, cavernous mouth.

"Something that's not good," Xander replied, "Girls, aim for the underside."

The Slayers fired their crossbows, most of them aiming for the underside of the beast, as Willow fired a magical spear-like projectile, but it simply bounced off the demon's back. Frowning, she fired another one, this time, directing it towards the demon's underside, but once again, the projectile simply bounced right off.

"Uh, Xander, this thing is immune to magic," Willow called out.

"Perfect."

A Slayer's scream was cut off halfway through when she was sliced completely in half and another Slayer disappeared down the demon's throat, as more crossbow bolts pierced its underside, but the demon didn't seem to notice its injuries or was completely unfazed as it sliced through several Slayers at once, tearing them to shreds.

"There's got to be something here we can use to kill it!" Xander cried.

He dived under the claws as they sailed overhead, nicking the back of his outfit and slicing it open. Faith fired her crossbow, tossing it aside in order to avoid the claws, but two Slayers nearby her weren't so lucky and were sliced to pieces.

"I could perhaps collapse the magic hiding this place and trapping it here," Willow suggested, "It's currently our best bet."

"Do it!" Xander shouted.

Willow opened a portal, through which all the remaining Slayers and Xander ran through, while keeping the demon at bay with a magical barrier. The demon snarled in fury, as Willow stepped through the portal, but just before she did, she broke the binds hiding the base, trapping it and the base in the alternate dimension as she made her escape back to the Scotland base.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Buffy got to her feet with a sigh, resuming her human face and stepped aside, as Spike groaned and slowly removed the stake from his shoulder.

"Why didn't you kill me?" Spike asked, tossing the bloodied stake aside.

"What does it matter?" Buffy asked, "I defeated you. Now, demon, let me out!"

"Just one thing first," the cave demon said, coming into view, his brilliant eyes glowing against the darkness.

"I've done enough, haven't I? I killed your goons, beat up Spike, I'm sure I'm worthy enough to leave. That was the whole point of it, right?"

"True enough, but I seem to recall saying a fight to the death. He still lives. Which means there's something inside there that held you back."

"Now that's just bull-"

"And that makes you worthy of your soul," the cave demon finished.

"What?" Buffy cried.

Before she could do anything, the demon pressed his hand to her chest, a bright white glow covering her body, as her eyes flashed brightly and she screamed in agony.

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	30. I'll Be By Your Side

**XXXXXXXXXX**

All Xander wanted to do was to go for a nice, long, hot shower, then crawl into bed and go to sleep. It was a good plan, a really good plan, since he was tired from the failed assault and the meeting that took place afterwards, where he had learnt more about Arsgomor from Connor and Dawn, who had stayed behind to do the research. However, what they had found didn't sound very appealing to Xander, as it simply listed Arsgomor's strengths, but no weaknesses. While horrible to hear, Xander reasoned that as long as Angus didn't have Buffy, he couldn't become Arsgomor, which was good. However, before the meeting could end, a new problem was found.

"We have received a video from the leader of the gang who has kidnapped a large number of people and holding them hostage inside a partially-constructed building," the Los Angeles newsreader reported.

"Slayers and Scoobies, I have here around sixty people held hostage," Angus said, walking calmly towards the camera, "If you want their lives spared, for the time being, I suggest you bring me Buffy Summers. If not, the killing begins."

"Hiiii," Angel greeted cheerily, "Just so you know, if any of you Slayers or Scoobies, since you guys love saving the world so much, try to interfere, everyone dies."

"You have forty-eight hours for Buffy to show herself," Angus finished.

"Great, so what are we going to do?" Dawn asked when the video ended, "It's not like we can just hand Buffy over to her."

"Well, we won't until we find a way to disrupt the ritual," Xander said, "Angus can't do it if he doesn't have Buffy. We'll use that time to find a counter spell."

"Yeah, but there's the lives of sixty people to consider," Faith said, "We can't just let them die. Buffy couldn't care less about them right now."

"No, but what do you think will happen if Angus gets hold of Buffy and does his spell? Then the entire world is doomed and everyone dies."

"Xander, are you really thinking about letting people die?" Willow cried.

"Look, I know it's not a great idea, but what would you rather? The lives of sixty people against the lives of six billion people?" Xander tried to reason.

"This is just crazy talk," Faith said, "Man, I dunno if you're even thinking straight."

"Giles would do the same. He would sacrifice the lives of the few to save the lives of the many and until we have another solution, that's what we're looking at."

"We have a massive force of Slayers that we could use to assault the building," Connor said, "Surely we could overwhelm the small number of vampires?"

"And risk the lives of sixty people?" Xander asked.

"A minute ago, you were all for letting them die. Change of heart?"

"I'm just…I'm just trying to do this right, without any lives lost, but I know it's not possible. We have to consider all possibilities and come up with the right plan."

"I'll get started on a location spell," Willow offered, "See if I can't find her."

"Man, I wonder how Giles did this," Xander said, slumping on the desk, "I wish he was here. He would know what to do."

"You're doing the best you can," Faith said, "Just dunno if it's the right best."

"Thanks, Faith, that really helped."

She shrugged, "I try."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_Cairo, Egypt._

The din of the traffic below was loud enough that Spike wondered if he would even be able to fall asleep, as he entered the small, two bed, single room apartment, a tray with two cups of pig's blood balancing on his hand and he looked at the figure standing by the glass doors, slowly running her fingers up and down the window pane.

"How you feeling?" he asked gently.

Buffy slowly looked at him, before returning back to the door.

"Fine," she replied quietly, before looking at him again, "How's your shoulder?"

Spike shrugged, "It'll heal. I've had worse, like burning up in a pillar of fire."

He sat on the bed closest to the front door, drinking his blood while keeping an eye on Buffy. It was the following night since she had received her soul and during that time, she had spent most of it sleeping, though often talking in her sleep, her conscience eating away at her at the lives she had joyfully taken.

"How did you do this?" Buffy asked, "How did you not go crazy with guilt?"

"Uh, I did, remember, love? Bug-shagging crazy as I recall. But you get used to it."

"What if I never will? What if all this guilt drives me crazy?"

"Hey, you'll be fine," Spike said, "You got pulled out of Heaven and moped for a good while, but you got over it. I'm sure this isn't really that much different."

"But it is, Spike!" Buffy cried, whirling around, "With Heaven, I was just unhappy. Here, I killed people and I enjoyed it. I loved inflicting suffering on my victims before killing them and I even enjoyed the thrill of cutting someone's leg off with a chainsaw! My God, I could have killed Dawn and had fun doing it!"

"Hey, hey, hey, it's okay," Spike said, moving to her side.

He pulled her into his arms as she burst into tears, sobbing into his chest as she struggled to deal with her newfound conscience. Now she could understand what Angel and Spike dealt with when they received their souls and while her misdeeds were nowhere as big or long as her two lovers, but it was still bad all the same. She could still taste the hot blood of her victims and her instincts were craving for more, but with her soul now back in place, she had to hold herself back. She didn't know how she was going to cope, but at least she had Spike here to help her through.

"Don't worry, pet, I'm here now," Spike said, "You won't be alone in this."

"I know," Buffy muffled against his chest, "Thank you."

She looked up at him and he wiped a tear away with the pad of his thumb, wanting nothing more than to soothe her and make sure that she was going to be alright on her path to redemption. Yep, he was starting to think like Angel and that couldn't exactly be a good thing, but he knew it was what Angel would do and also, it was what Buffy needed. After all, he had gone along the same path and now the roles were reversed.

_"God, she is so beautiful,"_ Spike found himself thinking, _"No wonder I fell for her."_

Before either one knew it, their lips had found each other and Buffy felt a spark being reignited inside her, her hands sliding through his hair, his arms holding her close to him, the kiss becoming heated with his tongue gaining entrance to her mouth and with a small step backwards, the pair found themselves falling onto a bed with her on top. Her hands slid under his shirt and he helped her in removing the garment, before attacking her throat and jaw line with his lips, his hands sliding up under her shirt. However, as soon as his hands came in contact with her skin, Buffy flashed back to when she was held captive by Angus and the vampire who had his way with her. Remembering the humiliation she had felt, Buffy pushed away from Spike, moving to the corner of the apartment in the blink of an eye, leaving Spike very confused.

"Buffy, what's wrong?" he asked, getting up, "Was it something I did? Okay, maybe I might have pushed a little too hard there and it's probably a little early-"

"It's not you, Spike," Buffy said quietly, but he heard it and sighed.

"Well, I know it's not your fault, so don't even say it. Just…tell me the problem."

"When Angus first captured me, I was tortured repeatedly by vampires," she began to explain, feeling the tears pricking at her eyes, "And this one vampire, he…um…well."

But Spike caught on to what she was trying to say what happened and he growled deep within his chest, wanting to find the vampire responsible and tear him to shreds. How dare a vampire do that to her? But then he realise that he had done that to her himself, only he was unsuccessful in his attempt and that had resulted in him fighting for his soul to be returned. But she had forgiven him for that act. She had forgiven him, even though there were times he thought she shouldn't have, she did.

"Yeah, I get it. I understand," Spike said, reaching for his shirt, "Besides, it shouldn't really have happened. You've only just got your soul back and everything's confusing and disorientating. Don't wanna make things even more messed up for you."

He started to put his shirt back up, but her hand stayed his, her other hand turning him around by the shoulder, as she then cupped his face with a small smile and Spike felt some disappointment inside at the feel of her cold hand, missing her former warmth.

"I'm sorry, Spike, it's just…it brought back memories. Memories I don't want and ones I know I can get rid of. But I need your help for that."

"Okay…and, er, how do I do that?"

Buffy leaned in and gently kissed him on the lips, one that spoke of a promise.

"Help me forget. Replace those memories."

Taking him by the hand, Buffy tugged him back onto the bed, hungrily kissing him, her legs wrapping around his hips and he eagerly accepted her invitation. He took his time, relearning every inch of skin, every small curve of her body, every strand of hair, relearning everything as they rekindled their fire. As they drifted off into sleep following their passion, Buffy heard him whisper those three important words before he descended and she had a small smile on her face as she joined him in slumber.

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	31. Giving In To You

**I just wanna say thanks for all the reviews so far, I really appreciate them :)**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

A few hours later and they were still no closer to figuring out how they were going to stop Angus, so Xander decided to call it quits at the meeting and he ventured up towards his room. However, as he passed through the main hallway, he stopped when he heard the main doors open and his jaw dropped at who he saw entering.

"Buffy?"

Even though Spike was there, Xander was more concerned about Buffy being here and he slowly started to back away, ready to give the command for all the Slayers in the castle to spring forth into action in order to subdue her.

"Xander, wait, it's okay," Buffy said, raising her hands in surrender, "It's me again."

"Yeah, that's why I'm about to call in all the girls here," Xander said.

"She has a soul, you nit," Spike said, "Why do you think we've been gone?"

"Is that true, Buffy?"

She nodded and he could tell from the look in her eyes that she was telling the truth. Slowly, he headed towards her and when she didn't do anything apart from watching him, Xander pulled Buffy into his arms, squeezing her tightly.

"You're back. I can't believe it. I've missed you, Buffy."

"I know," Buffy replied, hugging him back, "You have no idea."

"What's going on out here?" Willow asked, before stopping short, "Buffy?"

"Will, come join in and let's make it a group hug," Xander cried, still holding Buffy.

As Willow joined in the group hug, Spike moved past them and into the conference room, where he was assaulted by something small and brown-haired.

"You're alive still," Dawn cried, "We thought for sure that you were dead."

"Nice to have your confidence, Nibblet," Spike replied, "You do realise that these tattoos of mine prevent me from being found by anything, right?"

"I might have forgotten."

Just then, Spike detected a scent on Dawn and he recognised it as Connor's. Just as he turned towards him for an explanation, Buffy entered the room and the question was forgotten when Dawn shrank back from her sister, hiding behind Spike.

"Dawnie, it's okay," Buffy said, "I'm not here to hurt you."

"No, but you tried to last time, so excuse me if I'm a little cautious."

"Dawn, she has her soul back," Spike explained, "Where do you think I've been for however long we've been gone for? Getting her soul restored."

"I could have done it for her," Willow said.

"Yeah, but your spell has a curse on it, so it was best done my way. But hey, it's all good now, Buffy's back with us and I don't see Captain Big Bore anywhere."

Buffy looked around the room and noticed that someone else was missing.

"Where's Giles?" she asked.

Both Xander and Willow exchanged looks with each other.

"Buffy, there's something you should know," Willow said sadly.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

It was a cold night in London, but not like the weather really mattered to Buffy, as she strolled across the cemetery, a bouquet of flowers in hand, as she approached the grave. She was now wearing black mourning clothes, including a long coat, as Xander and Spike hung back, watching her kneel before the grave and lay the bouquet down. A well of sadness swam inside Buffy, as she lightly ran her fingers along Giles' name carved into the headstone, hating how graceful her touch was, but her grief outweighed her anger. Her Watcher, teacher, father-figure was gone and she hadn't been there to save him, simply because she was busy being evil. Her only regret now was that Giles had died while believing that she was evil and beyond help. If only he could know that she now had her soul again and would do anything she could to make sure that Angus paid dearly for taking Giles away from her.

"I'm so sorry, Giles," Buffy whispered.

Holding back the tears pricking at the corner of her eyes, she rose up, clenching her fist, as Spike came up behind her, his arm coming around her shoulders and she welcomed his presence. She knew he was going to be there for her and before she knew it, the tears had sprung and she turned into his chest, as he held her close.

"I should have been here, Spike."

"I know, pet, I know."

She didn't have to stop crying to breath and that disturbing thought alone made her hold the rest of the tears back and she forced herself to stop crying, knowing that it wasn't going to accomplish anything. But killing someone would.

"Xander, what current plans do you have for Angus?" Buffy asked.

"I, uh, we have none," Xander replied, "We can't give you to him and we can't storm the place without risking the hostages' lives."

"Well, you're just going to have to give him to me," Buffy said.

"We can't do that, love," Spike said, "We hand you over to Angus, we might as well say goodbye to the whole world."

"I can prevent that. I can work from the inside and disrupt it all."

Xander stayed quiet on the matter, having never told anyone about Angel's masquerading, being unable to figure out his motives following the incident at the London safe house. Part of him believed that Angel was good, while the other part believed Angel to be evil and having set him up. He did think about bringing it up to Buffy and Spike as they 'discussed' her plan, but figured it was pointless. If he didn't trust Angel, then why would they?

"Look, it's simple," Buffy explained, "I get in, I free the hostages, I disrupt the ritual-"

"You get your ass beaten half to death by Angus," Spike interrupted, "He was capable of making Angelus scared for a bit back in the day. You think you can take him?"

"I'm Buffy. I know I can handle him. And once I'm in and have freed the humans, the Slayers can come in from behind and do clean-up."

"You're crazy if you think you can do all this on your own."

"Then I'm crazy. Spike, I'm doing this and you can't convince me otherwise."

"I know, pet, I just wanted to make sure that you knew what you're doing," Spike said with a hint of a smirk, "No matter what, I've got your back."

Buffy smiled back at him, "I know you do."

Xander could only watch in horror as the pair then kissed each other. It went on for about a minute before he was able to shake his mind out of the shock and he cleared his throat, alerting their attention to him.

"You're making out over Giles' grave. That is just…I don't know where to begin!"

"Maybe we should do it somewhere else then," Spike said to Buffy.

Xander gagged.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_Los Angeles._

Angus stood atop the construction building, looking down at the streets below. He had set up the ritual, with a rack for Buffy to be tied upon built up over the summoning circle, which was adorned with numerous symbols, while the Eye of Ramras rested in the centre. Angel and Kumiko were standing nearby, both waiting for the ritual to happen, although for different reasons. Kumiko wanted to prove her faithfulness and help her master ascend, while Angel was looking to disrupt or destroy the ritual, however, he knew he had to bide his time until it was right to strike.

"Any word on Buffy?" Angus spoke into the two-way radio.

"None yet, sir," came the reply.

With a nod, Angus continued pacing along the edge of the rooftop. Civilians and authority officers had been kept back at least a block away due to the four snipers positioned on the rooftop and the three within the building, while any attempt to storm the building by SWAT teams had instantly been crushed by his vampires. Now, Angus was waiting for the Slayers to actually show up with Buffy, though he wondered how long it was going to take before she finally did show. After all, his small army were getting quite hungry and there was only so many human victims…

"We've got sign of the target," the radio suddenly crackled.

Angus smiled. Guess the Scoobies really were softies, but that didn't mean he was going to let the hostages go. No, they were going to be sustenance for when he finally ascended and nothing, not even a worldwide army of Slayers, could stop him.

"Bring her in," Angus ordered.

Buffy grinned to herself as the group of four commando vampires surrounded her, all armed with electrical rifles similar to what Riley used to wield, and they all escorted her inside the building. She waited until she was inside before staking the vampire in front of her, then smacking down the vampires on her sides, while booting the vampire behind her. Quick as a flash, she raced off down the unfinished corridor, as the remaining vampires slowly picked themselves up.

"She's escaped, I repeat, the target has escaped."

"Imbeciles!" Angus roared with rage, "Catch her! And don't you dare fail me!"

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	32. How to Make Angus Pay

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"I got sight of the targ - argh!"

The vampire commando slammed against a steel post from the kick to the chest, as a second commando fired his electrical rifle, but Buffy dodged the blast, throwing a third commando into the second, as the fourth swung his fist, but Buffy caught his wrist, ducking under his arm, then flipping the vampire onto his back. Ramming a stake into his heart, Buffy grabbed the first commando, throwing him into the two vampires starting to get back up, then taking off across the building, avoiding the electrical blasts from another group. Darting amongst the posts holding the building up, Buffy raced towards the next group, hitting them from the right, unleashing a barrage of punches and kicks, as electricity shot across the building in the attempt to strike their target, but she took the commandoes down, before disappearing.

"Report in," Angus ordered.

A vampire screaming as he was tossed from the building was the reply.

"Dammit!"

Buffy kicked a vampire in the face, then moved behind him, grabbing his arms and kneeing him in the back, slamming him into the floor, then staking him. Lunging at the next vampire, Buffy slammed him against a post, then staked him, as she moved to the next commando, knocking his rifle upwards, then stepping onto his knee. The vampire snarled as his knee was broken and Buffy then staked him through the back.

"Alright, who's next?" Buffy asked, turning around.

At least eight commandoes stood before her, their rifles humming loudly, as she vamped out and darted towards the nearest post to deflect the electrical blasts. Two vampires went after her, as she used a steel girder to knock them down, then hurled the girder at the other vampires. As they were disorientated by the blow, Buffy moved in, narrowly dodging a blast and she grabbed a vampire by the front of his vest, throwing him to the ground, falling upon the rest of the vampires, dust blowing through the air as she looked around, seeing that the floor was clear of vampires.

"You've got to get out of here now," Buffy said, untying the hostages.

She could hear their hearts beating fast in fear and her instincts were calling for her to swim in their rich, hot blood, but she held fast, helped by the soul and she resisted the urge to feed, instead focusing her efforts on helping the hostages flee the building. After making sure that the hostages had managed to descend to the ground floor, Buffy turned to head up to the next floor, when a fist suddenly crashed into her jaw, sending her flying back into a steel post. Groaning, Buffy looked up at Angus, before swiftly getting up and swinging her fist. Angus' head snapped to the side from the blow, as she punched him again, going for a third blow, but he caught her fist.

"You shouldn't resist, Buffy. You can't beat me," Angus grinned.

He slugged her in the jaw, knocking her to the ground, then raising his boot over her.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Once Angus had disappeared from the rooftop, Willow cast a spell that wiped out the four snipers, before a shield was put up by Kumiko to prevent any further spells, as Xander gave the command to storm the building. The plan was to rig up explosives upon the lower level of the building in order to destroy the ritual, since they had no other way of defeating Angus. Buffy knew that she might get caught in the explosion, but she was more than willing to go through with it, seeing it as a way to redeem herself for all the murder and mayhem she had caused. Of course, Spike tried to argue against her logic, but in the end, he relented upon seeing that Buffy wasn't going to change her mind and he took his frustrations out in the training room.

Once the explosives had been set up on the structures, all set for a one minute countdown, Xander, Spike and the Slayers retreated from the building, heading back to their safe point, where Willow and the others were waiting.

"All good to go?" Faith asked.

"Buffy's only got one minute to get out of there," Spike said, "Yeah, all good."

Angus dragged Buffy's unconscious form up to the rooftop, tying her to the post over the circle with some help from Angel, before stepping into the circle.

"Buffy's friends are here," Kumiko announced, "They just took out the snipers."

"Doesn't matter," Angus replied, "They still won't be able to stop me and soon, they'll see how pointless their efforts really are."

"I think that's your cue to start the spell," Angel said.

Kumiko glared at him, still furious over his betrayal, but picked up the book and started the spell, as Angus picked up the Eye of Ramras, which began glowing. Kumiko's voice started to get louder the further she chanted into the spell, as Angus drew a knife and sliced it across Buffy's stomach, waking her up.

"What the hell is going on?" she asked, "Why am I tied up?

Her blood dripped down onto his forehead and he smeared it down to his chest. A strong gale kicked up, filled with magical energy as it blew around the rooftop, as Kumiko started to reach the end of the spell. Angus could feel the magic building up within him and he could feel the changes begin to happen, his body expanding in muscle mass, as his eyes turned completely white, but then, the spell chanting suddenly stopped. Angus frowned, looking over at Kumiko, as blood ran from her lips. With a growl, Angel pushed hard on the small axe he had imbedded in Kumiko's back, throwing her off the rooftop, as Angus vamped out and lunged at Angel, narrowly dodging the blade.

"Just what the hell are you thinking, Angelus?" Angus snarled.

"You've got it wrong, Angus. It's Angel."

He swung the axe, but Angus caught his wrist, kicking him in the stomach, as Angel responded with a punch to the face. Growling, Angus ducked under Angel's arm and flipped him onto his back, but scored a kick to the face, as Angel flipped onto his feet, whirling around with a spinning kick to Angus' stomach.

"But how?" Angus growled, "The spell should've worked!"

"It would've, but I think the Powers That Be don't want you ascending," Angel replied, "Why do you think I told you about Kumiko's betrayal? How else would the Scoobies have known where the London safe house is?"

"Die!"

Angus caught Angel in the face with a fist, splattering blood on the rooftop, as Angel lashed out with a kick, but Angus caught his foot, only to score another kick to the face, as Angel got up and swung the axe. Catching his wrist, Angus struck Angel in the ribs, then threw him along the rooftop. Rolling back onto his feet, Angel turned towards Buffy, imbedding the axe into the ropes and freeing her, just as Angus tackled Angel to the ground. However, Buffy pulled her sire off and struck him in the jaw.

"Oh boy, I'm going to enjoy this," she said.

"So am I. I should've known you wouldn't join my cause, but I had been foolish. Now, I shall correct my mistake."

He punched her in the face, as she used the momentum to pull off a cartwheel, kicking her sire in the face, as Angel stabbed Angus in the back. He elbowed the younger vampire, smacking him aside with a backhand, as Buffy whirled Angus around and punched him in the face, then the stomach, before backhanding him. Angus staggered back with a grin, blocking Buffy's punch and slugging her back, before parrying Angel's fist and kneeing him in the stomach, throwing him down beside Buffy.

"We've got to get out of here," Buffy said, "Xander's rigged this place to blow."

"How much time to we have?" Angel asked.

"One minute and counting."

"You couldn't have mentioned this before?"

"Oh sorry, I was a little busy being unconscious. Why didn't you do anything earlier?"

"Excuse me if I was trying to _not_ blow my cover."

Angus came for them, as they rolled back onto their feet, before attacking together. Angus was able to block or parry their attacks, until Angel and Buffy were able to land a kick each on Angus' body, throwing him back, as the pair then ran for the rooftop edge. Just as they leapt off, the timers hit zero and an explosion ripped throughout the entire building. Angel and Buffy fell through the air, flames licking their descend and the pair landed heavily, as the entire building was brought crumbling down in their wake. Angel groaned, slowly opening his eyes and painfully getting up, before picking up Buffy and he began walking away.

"Any sign of them?" Xander asked.

"I can see them," Dawn answered, looking through the binoculars, "They're alive."

Connor looked over his shoulder, seeing a force of vampires making their appearance, heading towards the ruined building, as Angel carried Buffy away. She started to stir, but then, he stopped upon hearing rubble move and he turned towards the flames, watching as a heavily burnt Angus stepped out. His vest was gone, while his jeans were torn and bull-like horns had grown from his forehead, his hair having grown out into a large, wild mane and he grinned wildly.

"You think that's the end, huh?" Angus asked, "Believe me, it's only the beginning."

"The beginning of what?" Angel asked, "It's over, Angus. You lost."

"No, I haven't. Just because Kumiko is gone means nothing. She's not the only one who can do the spell. Watch."

Angel and Buffy watched on as Angus recited the last two lines of the spell, completing it as a whirlwind of magic surrounded him and he began to change.

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	33. Arsgomor's Rampage

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Angus' body began to increase in size, his skin turning dark brown as his clothes were torn from his body due to his immense size, growing to at least ten storeys high. A long, powerful and whip-like tail grew from his spine, as his body took on a skeletal look, a third eye opening in his forehead. His wild mane reached down to the base of his tail, as he pitched forward due to the size of his massive forearms, his fingers melting together into three large claws on each hand, which were now like tree trunks. Now the Old One Arsgomor, he let out a massive roar that shook Angel to the core, as he started to bring down buildings with his massive size.

**"Time to devour this world! And I am so hungry!"**

"Any plans on taking down a ten storey demon?" a standing Buffy asked.

"I'm gonna go with hitting," Angel replied, "You?"

"You took mine."

Arsgomor's tail swung around with blinding speed, sending Angel and Buffy flying through a nearby building. Thankfully, their undead nature allowed them to take the brutal blunt impact, but they were still knocked unconscious, as Arsgomor then stood on the building, bringing it crashing down and burying the pair inside.

"This is not good," Xander said.

"Neither is that," Connor said, pointing out the small army of vampires.

"Faith, Spike, take the Slayers and deal with them. Willow, what can you do about the, uh, huge-ass demon?"

"I, uh, I'll think of something," Willow replied.

She launched a magical spear of energy that struck Arsgomor in the back and he turned around, before using his tail to snap a spire off a skyscraper and hurl it at Willow. She quickly conjured a shield, preventing the spire from hitting anyone, but the impact brought the shield down and knocked Willow to the ground. With a roar, Arsgomor unleashed a beam of energy from his three eyes, demolishing several buildings at once, as people ran screaming from the scene, cars piling up upon each other due the drivers in shock and surprise at the sight of Arsgomor, as he brought a tree-sized hand down upon a coffee shop, crushing the occupants inside, as his tail snatched up a screaming civilian and Arsogmor devoured him.

**"Yes! More! More!"**

The vampires went to follow their master, but Faith, Spike, Connor and numerous Slayers stood in their way, with Faith holding the scythe.

"Sorry boys, end of the line," she smirked.

"Will, wake up," Xander said, "Come on, Will, wake up."

"Do I have to, Oz?" Willow groaned, before waking up, "Oh, Xander!"

"Hey, Will. Is there like a banishing spell you can try on him?"

"I know only one, but I'll give it a go."

Xander helped Willow to her feet, as she then chanted a banishing spell. He stopped in his rampage when he felt the buzz of magic surrounding him and in confusion, he looked around until he found the source and with a roar, he stopped towards Willow. Just as he reached her, opening his cavernous mouth, Willow finished the spell and Arsgomor disappeared from sight, sent off to a different dimension.

"Well, that was easy," Dawn commented.

**"Fools! Did you really think that would work?"**

"Or not," Xander said, before looking up at Arsgomor, "It was worth a try."

**"You shall feed me!"**

His tail snapped around, as Willow grabbed Xander and Dawn, before shooting off into the sky, narrowly avoiding the tail, as Arsgomor snarled in annoyance, firing energy beams from his eyes. Willow narrowly dodged the beams, before having to dodge his massive forearm when it swung at her with surprising speed.

"There's got to be a way to put him down for good," Willow said.

"I've got an idea," Xander said, "But we're going to need some things, Will."

Spike punched a vampire across the jaw, before ducking a second vampire's fist and hitting him in the ribs. Faith decapitated a vampire, before reversing the scythe and slamming the stake into a vampire's heart, bursting him into dust. The rest of the vampires barely stood a chance against the Slayers and were swiftly decimated, their piles of dust blowing in the wind, as the ground shook beneath the Slayers.

"Bollocks," Spike said.

Arsgomor's giant foot came crashing down, killing several Slayers beneath his toes, while Faith, Spike and Connor had dived out of the way, the former getting to her feet and slashing at Arsgomor's foot with the scythe, but his tail snapped around and sent Faith flying straight into Spike, taking them both down, while Connor managed to duck out of sight, seeking for a way to strike without being detected, rely on the skills that Daniel Holtz had taught him during his childhood.

Angel groaned as he sat up in the rubble, his head pounding from the impact and he looked over the unconscious form of Buffy. Hearing Arsgomor stomping throughout his beloved city, Angel forced himself to get up, doing his best to ignore the ringing in his head as he knelt beside Buffy and slapped her.

"Wazzup?" Buffy cried upon waking up.

"Giant demon tearing the city apart, that's what," Angel replied, "Come on, get up."

"Geez, Dad, no need to rush," she grumbled, getting to her feet.

The pair looked towards the sounds of destruction, watching as Arsogmor rampaged throughout the city, leaving crushed buildings and bodies in his wake.

"What are we going to do now?" Buffy asked.

"Whatever we can," Angel said, "Come on."

The pair pulled themselves out of the rubble, where they were joined by Connor.

"Dad, it's chaos out here. There's just no way we can bring him down."

"Well, here's an idea," Xander said, appearing out of nowhere, "We could do that same trick that we used on Adam. It's really our best bet in stopping Angus."

"Yeah, but last time, we had Giles," Buffy said, "This time, we don't."

"We figured that since you're a vampire and that we're fighting an Old One, something more than Giles is kinda needed," Willow added, "Angel?"

"Uh, I'm confused," Angel said, "What are you talking about?"

"It's enjoining spell, where four people combine into one," Willow explained.

"It's kinda like Captain Planet, only without the mullet," Xander said, "Wanna try?"

"I don't know. I mean, something like that is seriously dangerous and-"

"Yadda yadda yadda, we've heard it all before, we know the risks. However, we need more firepower than me, so where's Spike?"

"Are you sure we can do this?" Buffy questioned, "Three vampires and a witch, calling upon the First Slayer. You remember what happened last time?"

"Yeah, you saved us. Besides, saving the world is pretty much more important, right?"

Angel and Buffy exchanged looks, the latter biting her lip as she wrestled with the decision. She knew it was risky, even more so now that she was a vampire and that it would definitely have the First Slayer chasing after her again. But they had no other way on stopping Angus, so it was really their only choice.

"Alright fine. Angel, find Spike. We're gonna do it."

Angel headed off and returned moments later with Spike, as Connor, Xander and Dawn headed off to join Faith and the remaining Slayers. Locating a building that hadn't been destroyed and could keep them safe, Willow set up the materials required for the spell, as Angel and Spike made up a circle with her, while Buffy stood aside.

"Alright, let's do this," Willow said, "The power of the Slayer and all who wield it. Last to ancient first, we invoke thee. Grant us thy domain and primal strength. Accept us and the power we possess. Make us mind and heart and spirit enjoined. Let the hand encompass us. Do thy will," she chanted, before turning the card, "Spiritus... Spirit."

"Animus... Heart," Spike spoke, flipping his card.

"Sophus... Mind," Angel recited, turning his card over.

"And Manus... the hand," Willow said, turning the card towards Buffy, "We enjoin that we may inhabit the vessel, the hand, daughter of Sineya, first of the ones. We are heart. We are mind. We are spirit. From the raging storm. We bring the power of the Primeval One."

A whirlwind of magic surrounded the trio, holding them in a trance-like state as all their powers and abilities were transferred to Buffy. She vamped out in response, her eyes having turned blood red and filled with the powers of her friends, she flew out of the building, flying straight towards Arsgomor. A blade of magical energy appeared around her hand and she sliced through one of his horns, before catching the severed piece and stabbing the tip straight into his middle eye. Arsogomor roared in agony, as his tail snapped around and struck Buffy, sending her flying straight through a building, but she stopped her momentum, having been unaffected by the impact and she flew back at Arsgomor, knocking him off his front legs with a powerful punch.

**"What? How? It's impossible! There's no way you could hurt me!"**

"Guess again," Buffy said, speaking with the voices of Willow, Angel and Spike.

His tail swung around again, but this time, Buffy was ready, catching his tail and then hurled him with the aid of magic. Arsgomor grumbled as he picked himself up, unable to believe that he had been tossed aside like nothing by a mere vampire.

"Your time of rampage has come to an end," Buffy said.

**XXXXXXXXXX**


	34. By Your Powers Combined

**XXXXXXXXXX**

More vampires had arrived on the scene, including several witches as they fired magical energy spears, forcing Faith and Xander to duck for cover amongst the ruins of Los Angeles, while Connor and Dawn had gone in a different direction.

"Time to call in the reinforcements," Faith said.

An energy spear struck the concrete block they had been hiding behind, splitting it in half and forcing the pair to find alternative places to hide, being separated in the process, as Xander reached for his radio transmitter.

"Leah, if you're there, we could definitely use some help here."

"What's going on there?" came Leah's question, "We've got a massive reading there."

"Leah, that's the reason we need help, so just send it, alright?"

"Of course, sir, my apologies. They'll be there in three minutes."

"A little quicker wouldn't be too bad," Xander said, as a spear narrowly missed him.

Several vampires chased after Faith, as she ducked inside a partially destroyed building, before turning on the vampires, wielding the scythe and turning them to dust. Meanwhile, other vampires chased after Connor and Dawn, with them heading down into an alley. Connor pulled a dumpster in the way behind him, taking out two vampires, but the rest leapt over the dumpster, as Dawn turned and fired her crossbow, hitting a vampire in the heart and turning him to dust.

"Nice shot," Connor said approvingly.

"I know, but now the rest are yours," Dawn smiled.

"What?"

She smashed the crossbow across a vampire's jaw, as Connor took on two vampires at once, swiftly staking one and allowing another vampire to join the fight, as two other vampires went for Dawn. She backed up, relying on the skills that Buffy had taught her, darting away from the nearest vampire when he lunged at her, before swinging her fist at the next vampire, who did not expect getting hit by a girl and he actually fell to the ground, caught by surprise. Dawn herself was surprised at having fell a vampire with a single blow, as the first vampire she had dodged grabbed her from behind with a snarl, baring his fangs towards her neck.

"Dawn!"

Connor struck the vampire holding her, before slinging him to the ground and slamming a stake in his chest, then moved towards Dawn and checked her neck, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw no marks, while Dawn saw that he had already killed the other two vampires. However, the vampire she had knocked down started to get up and Dawn grabbed the stake from Connor, before stabbing it into the vampire. He burst into dust with a look of surprise on his face, as Dawn turned back to Connor, who swept her up into his arms, planting a kiss on her lips.

"That's my girl," he grinned.

Meanwhile, Xander was running and ducking for cover as the witches fired their spells after him, transmuting his hiding places, ranging from a bush of roses to a live sheep and a giant, living hamburger in their attempts to get him, as he ducked behind a car with a crushed front end. However, the car was transmuted into a living bull, as Xander fell on his backside, but then, one of the witches screeched due to the bolt sticking out of her heart, as another witch was sealed within a ball of ice.

"Reinforcements have arrived," Kate announced.

Eddie, in his demon form, snarled and lunged at the nearest vampire commandoes, taking them down as Kate and the Slayers joined the fight against the vampires, with a few witches battling with magic against the vampiric counterparts. Leah handed Xander a crossbow and he took careful aim, before killing a vampire witch with a single shot, then reloaded the weapon and fired again.

**"Why won't you stay still?"** Arsgomor snarled.

He fired twin laser beams at Super-Buffy, as she nimbly flew around them, before finally erecting a magical shield around her that absorbed two beams and she channelled the energy into her hands, effectively returning the blasts. They slammed into Arsgomor and he staggered back, before whipping his tail around. Buffy dodged the tail, before stopping his hand with her palms, as he then slammed her into the road, smashing her into the sewers below. Buffy groaned as she looked up at Arsgomor, a jet of flames issuing from his mouth and into the sewers. When the flames died down and Buffy wasn't anywhere in sight, Arsogmor grinned and continued on with his rampage of destruction, however, Buffy suddenly burst out of the sewers from beneath him, her fist slamming into his stomach and lifting him off his feet. Arsgomor cried out in surprise, as he regained his footing.

**"How can you have this power? No one should be able to do this to me!"**

"It doesn't matter how I have this power," Buffy said, "All that matters is that this power is more than enough to defeat you."

She flew towards him, pushing off his tail and flipping over, as the magical energy blade appeared around her fist and she sliced down upon Arsgomor's face. He roared, staggering back as she flew forth and impaled his left eye, before pushing off and deflecting his single laser beam with a square of magic. Arsgomor snarled, before unleashing a blast of flames, but Buffy protected herself with a shield of magic, before flying forth once the flames had died down. Arsgomor lunged at her, but she zipped inside his open mouth, travelling down his oesophagus and into his stomach. There, Buffy created a small ball of magic, before expanding its size until it began pressing against the walls of the Old One's stomach. He screamed in agonising pain, as Buffy clicked her fingers and the sphere pushed through his body, splitting him in half. There was a large shower of blood that rained down upon the area, as Buffy floated towards the ground, landing near Arsgomor's upper half. With the fight now over, the spell faded and Buffy collapsed to the ground, weary with fatigue, as Willow, Spike and Angel also collapsed from fatigue. A vampire burst into the room, he quickly burst into dust, as Faith turned towards the next vampire, dusting him as well.

"Buffy, are you okay?" Dawn asked, kneeling beside her sister.

"Yeah, Dawnie, I'll be okay," Buffy replied, "Just…need to rest for a bit."

Dawn nodded, before letting out a scream, as Buffy shoved her back to avoid Arsgomor's fist when it came crashing down and he roared in annoyance.

"You should be dead," Buffy growled, vamping out.

**"Ha, as if that could kill me. If anything, it really, really, really hurt."**

"Well, I promise to do it right this time."

Arsgomor responded by breathing a jet of flames that Buffy narrowly avoided, although her shirt sleeve did catch on fire and she hurriedly patted it out, as his fist slammed into her body and sent her bouncing along the road. Buffy groaned, struggling to get to her feet, as Arsgomor fired a beam from his remaining eye, hitting Buffy into a car. She spat blood and slowly got up, as Arsgomor pulled himself towards her. Staggering back, Buffy looked around for something to use, while Dawn had ducked around the rubble to avoid being seen or hit by the Old One.

"Buffy!" Xander cried.

He took aim and fired his crossbow, hitting Arsgomor in his remaining eye, completely blinding him. He roared, as a few witches bombarded him with numerous magical spells and he began breathing jets of flames in retaliation, unleashing them in random directions, managing to incinerate one unlucky witch, but then, the magic on his body began to break down and slowly, he began to revert back to the vampire Angus, who was left kneeling on the ground, blood running down his body while both his eyes were missing and he let out a snarl of frustration at having failed in his quest for world domination.

"I think this one is yours, B," Faith said, handing her the scythe.

"This isn't how it should have gone!" Angus continued to rage, "I was meant to rule the world, not be defeated by a simple Slayer!"

"A Slayer you turned into a vampire," Buffy replied.

She swung the scythe, decapitating her sire and he burst into dust, as Buffy then fell to her knees, weary from the fight and having finally killed the one responsible for her current existence. Willow, Spike and Angel made their presence known, supported by Connor, Kate and Eddie as they surrounded Buffy and Spike went to her side, pulling her into his arms, comforting her as she cried in relief into his shirt.

"Hey, it's all over now," he soothed, "We can all go home and put this behind us."

Buffy silenty agreed with him. She wanted nothing more than to go home, sink to a bed and just sleep, hopefully a dreamless sleep. The loss of Giles, the trauma of her murders and now the relief of having finally killed the one responsible for her current state had all taken their toll on Buffy. She was thankful that Spike was here to comfort her, knowing that she always rely on him.

Wiping her tears away, Buffy got to her feet, looking around at the destruction that had been caused in the battle and she knew there was no way any of this could be explained to the authorities. She turned to Willow, who seemed to have the same idea and she opened a portal, sheperding everyone though. Buffy was the last one through, still looking around Los Angeles as police sirens wailed in the distance.

"Come on, luv, time to go," Spike said, gently tugging on her arm, "Let the police handle this. We can't be here."

Nodding her agreement, Buffy took his hand in hers and together, they stepped through the portal.

**XXXXXXXXXX**


End file.
